NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is progressing toward its target in the asteroid belt following a gravity assist maneuver from Mars in May. During its approach, Psyche captured thousands of images with its multispectral imager, revealing the surface of Mars and its icy south pole.
A timelapse video created from these images highlights the spacecraft’s encounter with the planet. It showcases a crescent Mars and offers detailed views not commonly seen. “The imager performed brilliantly, delivering some rarely seen views of the red planet,” said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University.
Psyche began its approach to Mars on May 2, achieving closest proximity on May 15. This gravity assist increased the spacecraft’s speed and adjusted its trajectory towards the asteroid Psyche while conserving propellant.
Psyche is projected to reach its namesake asteroid in 2029. “Besides the obvious beauty of the photos, we were also able to fully test its calibration and sensitivity to scattered light,” Bell added. The spacecraft detected the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos during this encounter, which will aid in its future satellite search at the asteroid Psyche.
