PASADENA, California, May 30, 2026, 08:03 (PDT)
NASA says its Psyche spacecraft has swung past Mars, using a gravity assist on May 15 that took it just 2,864 miles from the red planet. With that maneuver, the probe now tracks toward asteroid Psyche, targeting a 2029 rendezvous with the metal-rich object scientists hope will shed light on the origins of rocky planets.
This wasn’t just a photo opportunity. During the flyby, Psyche picked up an extra 1,000 miles per hour and tweaked its orbital plane by about one degree, tapping Mars’ gravity—maneuvers that would have eaten up a significant amount of propellant if done any other way on the lengthy route out to the main asteroid belt.
Gravity assists—essentially, flybys that tap a planet’s motion and pull—let spacecraft tweak their speed or trajectory. For Psyche, Mars filled that role, bridging its initial Earth departure with a second cruise phase of roughly 29 months out to the asteroid.
NASA engineers have locked in Psyche’s path, analyzing radio transmissions between the spacecraft and the Deep Space Network, the agency’s worldwide deep-space comms lifeline. Don Han, who heads Psyche navigation at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, summed it up: the team is “on course for arrival at the asteroid Psyche in summer 2029.” ScienceDaily
The flyby doubled as a shakedown for the spacecraft’s scientific instruments. In the days leading up to—and through—the closest pass, engineers activated Psyche’s cameras, magnetometers, and its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. The cameras snapped thousands of Mars shots, including sunlight-carved crescents, a result of the planet’s hazy, dust-filled air. Jim Bell, who heads imaging at Arizona State University, described the haul as “unique and important opportunities” to evaluate how the cameras are performing. WIRED
Among the images: the double-ring Huygens crater, wind streaks scattered across the Syrtis Major region, and the south polar cap layered with water ice. NASA attributed the Huygens shot to Psyche’s multispectral imager, which captures data at multiple wavelengths and helps pinpoint surface materials and features.
NASA called the Mars pass a rehearsal. During the flyby, Perseverance, Curiosity, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 2001 Mars Odyssey, ESA’s Mars Express, and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter chipped in with either navigation data or extra Mars observations. This gave mission teams one more shot at comparing and calibrating instruments before Psyche heads for its main target.
NASA’s Psyche mission took off on Oct. 13, 2023, marking the agency’s first attempt to explore an asteroid richer in metal than in rock or ice. The solar electric–powered orbiter is set to photograph the asteroid, create surface maps, and gather data on its composition once it arrives.
Asteroid research is bustling, though this isn’t a commercial scramble. NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is currently zipping past both main-belt and Jupiter Trojan asteroids. OSIRIS-APEX, after Earth’s close encounter with Apophis in 2029, is on track for the asteroid. Across the Atlantic, ESA’s Hera will meet up with Dimorphos in November 2026, following up on the results of NASA’s DART impact experiment.
The scientific prize here remains uncertain. NASA points out that asteroid Psyche might be the exposed core of a long-lost planet, heavy on iron, or it could turn out to be another type of metallic object altogether. According to the agency’s mission overview, no one really knows its appearance until the spacecraft gets a close look.
Schedule risk is another factor. JPL’s mission documents call the timeline for the asteroid approach and orbital maneuvers “approximate,” with built-in margin for engineers to troubleshoot if operational problems crop up. So, even if the Mars flyby goes smoothly, delays can still happen. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, who leads the Psyche mission at the University of California, Berkeley, called the Mars maneuver a long time coming for the team. “Onward to the asteroid Psyche!” she said. Gizmodo
