NASA's Psyche mission captures timelapse of Mars flyby

NASA's Psyche spacecraft, on its way to study a metal-rich asteroid, has sent back a striking timelapse video of its flyby of Mars in early May 2023. The footage, released by the agency, shows the red planet's surface in black and white, with a mysterious bright spot that scientists have identified as the Martian moon Deimos passing in the background. The timelapse was compiled from 50 images taken over a period of about 2.5 hours as the spacecraft approached and then receded from Mars.

The flyby, which occurred on May 8, 2023, was a critical maneuver for the Psyche mission, using Mars's gravity to slingshot the probe toward its final destination—the asteroid 16 Psyche, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft came within about 500 miles (800 kilometers) of the Martian surface, allowing its science instruments to collect data on the planet's atmosphere and surface features. The timelapse captures the planet's disk growing and then shrinking as the spacecraft passed by.

This event matters because it demonstrates the successful execution of a complex trajectory correction that will save fuel and time for the Psyche mission. The data gathered during the flyby also provides valuable scientific insights, including observations of Deimos, which appears as a tiny moving dot in the video. The mission, launched in October 2023, aims to reach asteroid 16 Psyche in 2029, where it will study a body thought to be the exposed core of an early planet.

Background from NASA indicates that the Psyche spacecraft's cameras were originally designed to capture the asteroid, but they were repurposed for the Mars flyby. The timelapse was created from images taken by the spacecraft's two black-and-white cameras, which are part of the science instrument suite. The bright spot that appears in the video is Deimos, one of Mars's two small moons, which was captured as it moved across the field of view.

Looking ahead, the Psyche mission will continue its journey, with the next major milestone being the arrival at the asteroid in 2029. The spacecraft will then spend about 26 months in orbit, mapping and studying the asteroid's composition, topography, and magnetic field. The successful Mars flyby has set the stage for this ambitious science investigation, which could help scientists understand how planets and other celestial bodies formed.