NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Captures First Images on its Journey to Asteroid Psyche
The Psyche spacecraft, launched from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 13, has been making remarkable progress since its departure from Earth. In just eight weeks, it has successfully activated its scientific instruments, transmitted data back to Earth, and achieved a deep-space record with its electric thrusters. The latest achievement occurred on Dec. 4, when the mission team turned on Psyche’s twin cameras and captured its first images, marking a significant milestone known as “first light.”
Currently located 16 million miles away from Earth, the spacecraft is en route to its destination, the asteroid Psyche, which is situated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. To ensure that all the science instruments are functioning properly and to allow sufficient time for calibration and adjustments, the team decided to test them early in the mission. The imager instrument, consisting of a pair of identical cameras, captured a total of 68 images within a star field in the constellation Pisces. These images are being used to verify the commanding, telemetry analysis, and calibration of the cameras.
“These initial images are only a curtain-opener,” says Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead from Arizona State University. “We start checking out the cameras with star images like these, then in 2026 we’ll take test images of Mars during the spacecraft’s flyby. And finally, in 2029 we’ll get our most exciting images yet – of our target asteroid Psyche. We look forward to sharing all of these visuals with the public.”
The imager captures pictures using multiple color filters, which were tested during these initial observations. By utilizing wavelengths of light both visible and invisible to the human eye, the team aims to determine the composition of the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. Additionally, the data collected will be used to create 3D maps of the asteroid, providing insights into its geology and history.
Solar Surprise
During the early stages of the mission, the team activated the magnetometer, which will provide crucial data for understanding the formation of the asteroid. Detecting a magnetic field would indicate that Psyche was once a planetesimal, a building block of a planet. This information could shed light on the formation of our own planet. Interestingly, the magnetometer unexpectedly detected a solar eruption known as a coronal mass ejection, where the Sun releases large amounts of magnetized plasma. Since then, the team has observed several of these events and will continue to monitor space weather as the spacecraft journeys to the asteroid.
The good news is that the data collected so far confirms the magnetometer’s ability to detect even the smallest magnetic fields. It also confirms that the spacecraft is magnetically “quiet,” meaning that the electrical currents generated by the spacecraft do not interfere with scientific measurements. This confirmation was possible because Earth’s powerful magnetic field was not present in space.
In the Zone
In early November, while conducting various scientific operations, the team successfully activated two of the four electric propulsion thrusters, setting a record for the first-ever use of Hall-effect thrusters in deep space. These thrusters, which expel charged atoms of xenon gas, will propel the spacecraft on its 2.2-billion-mile journey to the asteroid and assist in maneuvering while in orbit. Additionally, the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, integrated into the spacecraft, achieved first light on Nov. 14 by sending and receiving optical data from a distance of nearly 10 million miles away, marking the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications.
The Psyche team has also powered on the gamma-ray detecting component of its third science instrument, the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. In the coming weeks, the instrument’s neutron-detecting sensors will be activated. These capabilities will enable the team to determine the chemical elements present on the surface of the asteroid.
More About the Mission
The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University (ASU), with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) managing the mission’s overall operations. Maxar Technologies provided the spacecraft chassis, while ASU collaborated with Malin Space Science Systems on the design and testing of the cameras. JPL manages the DSOC experiment, and the mission is part of NASA’s Discovery Program, overseen by the Marshall Space Flight Center. The launch service was managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center.
For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/psyche.
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
