PASADENA, California, June 5, 2026, 03:06 PDT
NASA’s Psyche probe swung by Mars on May 15, skimming just 2,864 miles (4,609 km) from the planet to tap its gravity for a crucial speed and course adjustment. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the close pass granted Psyche about a “1,000 mile-per-hour boost” and nudged its orbital plane by roughly 1 degree. Now the spacecraft is tracking toward a metal-rich asteroid, with arrival set for 2029. NASA
The flyby wasn’t just a chance for snapshots—it served as Psyche’s key mid-cruise maneuver. NASA designed this swing past Mars to conserve xenon propellant, crucial for the probe’s solar-electric ion thrusters that draw power from its solar arrays. That efficiency will matter as Psyche moves further out toward the asteroid belt.
The maneuver shifted the mission out of setup mode and set it on course for its target. Leading up to and during the flyby, the spacecraft switched on its cameras, magnetometers, plus the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, calibrating each instrument using Mars as a reference point—a planet well-studied by scientists.
Don Han, who heads navigation for Psyche at JPL, said radio data from NASA’s Deep Space Network confirmed the probe remains “on course for arrival” at the asteroid, slated for 2029. The global array of giant antennas tracks distant spacecraft; Doppler shifts in Psyche’s signals indicated the Mars flyby gave the craft the precise boost engineers wanted. Sky at Night Magazine
Psyche snapped fresh shots of Mars—a narrow crescent before its approach, a bright, almost full disk after passing by, and striking images of the south polar ice cap. The probe caught detailed views of wind-brushed craters across Syrtis Major. In a standout moment, one Huygens Crater photo, tweaked with enhanced color, highlighted the sharp contrasts between dust, sand, and bedrock.
Jim Bell, who heads the Psyche imaging team at Arizona State University, called the dataset a “unique and important” chance to refine both the cameras and processing methods. NASA’s Mars explorers—Curiosity, Perseverance, plus the orbiters—gathered comparison data at the time of the flyby, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Magazine
The target: asteroid Psyche—a 173-mile-wide (280-km) object parked out in the main belt, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. NASA aims to have its spacecraft reach Psyche and start its survey by August 2029, chasing answers about whether this relic might be a chunk of a planetesimal, an early building block of planets. The mission could shed light on how metal cores form inside rocky worlds.
Psyche’s target sets it apart in the busy world of asteroid missions. Where NASA’s OSIRIS-REx brought back pieces of carbon-heavy Bennu, Lucy’s scope covers Jupiter’s Trojans, and ESA’s Hera will analyze Dimorphos after DART’s collision test, Psyche is bound for a metal-rich asteroid—a notable shift from the missions focused on rock, ice, or returning samples.
The main issue remains unanswered. According to NASA, fresh data suggest Psyche contains both rock and metal, but researchers won’t know its true appearance until the probe makes a close approach. Skimming past Mars helps tighten up trajectory risks, but doesn’t confirm whether the asteroid actually reveals a planetary core.
Launched in 2023, the van-sized spacecraft has a long cruise left before it even gets to asteroid orbit. Should everything stay on track, the probe will orbit Psyche for roughly two years, gathering data on gravity, magnetism, and composition until the main mission wraps up.
