NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, launched in 2023 on a mission to explore a metal-rich asteroid, has sent back fresh images of Mars after using the planet’s gravity to adjust its trajectory. The flyby, executed on May 15, provided both a speed boost and a rare opportunity to test the probe’s instruments while capturing detailed views of the Red Planet’s surface.
The new photos showcase a rugged stretch of Mars’ southern highlands, including the 71-mile-wide Fournier crater and a long cliff system called Oenotria Scopuli. The images also allowed the team to spot Phobos and Deimos, the planet’s two small moons, from a distance.
“The imager performed brilliantly, delivering some rarely seen views of the Red Planet,” said Jim Bell, the mission’s imager instrument lead at Arizona State University, in a statement.
Beyond the visuals, the flyby served as a full instrument check. Psyche’s magnetometer detected a strong signal as it crossed into the region where the solar wind collides with Mars’ magnetic field. Its radiation-sensing spectrometer also recorded a burst of particles kicked up from the planet’s surface—a phenomenon scientists had predicted.
“Psyche flew by Mars on exactly the trajectory we needed to set us on a path to rendezvous with the asteroid in the summer of 2029,” said Bob Mase, the mission’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, according to the press release.
The spacecraft is now aimed at the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, where it will study a metal-rich asteroid also named Psyche. Scientists believe this asteroid could be a leftover chunk of an early planet’s core, offering insights into the formation of rocky planets.
This successful flyby marks a critical milestone for the mission, which has already drawn comparisons to other high-stakes space probes. For context, the DOJ investigation into Harvard’s financial aid policies shows how federal scrutiny can reshape institutional practices, much like how this flyby reshapes Psyche’s path.
As Psyche continues its journey, the data from Mars will help refine its trajectory and instrument calibration. The mission’s next major event will be its arrival at the asteroid in 2029, where it will spend 26 months orbiting and analyzing the metallic body.
For now, the team is celebrating a flawless gravity assist. “We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome,” added Mase.
