NASA’s Psyche spacecraft used Mars as a gravity slingshot while traveling toward a metal-rich world that may help uncover what lies inside planets like Earth.
On May 15, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew just 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) above Mars in a successful close pass. The spacecraft used Mars’ gravity to gain speed and adjust its trajectory without using fuel, keeping it on course toward its target, the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.
The spacecraft is now heading straight for the asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. Following the flyby, engineers confirmed its trajectory by using radio communications between Psyche and NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), the agency’s global system for tracking deep space missions, ensuring it remained accurately on course.
Mars Gravity Boost Sets Psyche on Course for 2029 Encounter
Don Han, Psyche’s navigation lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said that while the team was confident in their calculations and flight plan, it was still thrilling to watch the DSN’s Doppler signal in real time during the flyby. He noted that Mars gave the spacecraft a speed increase of about 1,000 miles per hour and changed its orbital plane by roughly 1 degree relative to the Sun, keeping it on track to reach the asteroid Psyche in summer 2029.
Uncommon crescent-shaped views of Mars
Before and during the flyby, the spacecraft turned on all its scientific instruments for calibration, including its cameras, magnetometers, and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. The Mars encounter acted as a rehearsal for operations at the asteroid and provided scientists with a rare perspective of the Red Planet.
Approaching Mars at a steep angle relative to the Sun, Psyche saw the planet as a thin crescent lit by reflected sunlight. Images from the multispectral imager showed the crescent stretching farther than expected, likely due to sunlight scattering through Mars’ dusty atmosphere. As the spacecraft moved from the night side into daylight at closest approach, it rapidly captured images of the surface below.
Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, said the team captured thousands of images of Mars during its approach and close pass, covering the planet’s surface and atmosphere. He explained that this dataset offers valuable opportunities to calibrate and evaluate the performance of the cameras, as well as test early image-processing tools intended for use at the asteroid Psyche. He added that after the flyby, the spacecraft will continue taking calibration images of Mars throughout the month as the planet gradually fades from view.
Read the original article on: SciTechDaily
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