NASA's Psyche spacecraft has captured rare images of Mars during a May flyby, giving scientists an unusual view of the Red Planet as the spacecraft used its gravity to accelerate toward a distant metal-rich asteroid.
The spacecraft passed roughly 2,800 miles above Mars on May 15, completing a gravity-assist maneuver that slightly altered its trajectory and boosted its speed toward the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The encounter also provided an unexpected opportunity to test Psyche's scientific instruments and capture images of a planet more often photographed from orbit or from its surface.
NASA released the images on July 17 after teams spent weeks transmitting, processing, and analyzing the data.
The resulting views show Mars from a perspective rarely seen by spacecraft passing through the inner solar system.
Psyche's Rare Look at the Red Planet
Unlike the familiar full-disk images of Mars, Psyche's cameras captured the planet during its approach and departure, producing views that reveal its curved horizon and changing appearance as the spacecraft swept past.
The images offer glimpses of Mars' cratered landscape, dusty surface and polar region as the planet appeared to grow and then recede in the spacecraft's field of view.
NASA also released a time-lapse sequence showing the spacecraft's approach to and departure from Mars, allowing viewers to watch the Red Planet change from a distant crescent into a much larger planetary body before fading again into space.
Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University, described the photographs as "rarely seen views" of Mars.
The images are more than a visual treat. The flyby also allowed the mission team to prepare Psyche's instruments for future scientific observations.
Mars Gave Psyche a Cosmic Slingshot
The spacecraft did not make the journey to Mars simply to take photographs.
Psyche used the planet's gravity as a natural slingshot, gaining momentum that will help propel it toward its ultimate destination.
The spacecraft was traveling at approximately 12,333 mph when it reached Mars. By harnessing the planet's gravitational pull, mission planners were able to increase its speed and slightly adjust its trajectory without relying entirely on onboard fuel.
The maneuver is an important step in Psyche's roughly six-year, 2.2 billion-mile journey to the asteroid belt.
The spacecraft launched in October 2023 and is expected to reach its destination, the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, by 2029.
A Metal World Could Reveal Secrets About Earth
The asteroid Psyche is unlike most space rocks scientists have explored.
Located in the main asteroid belt, Psyche is believed to contain significant amounts of metal, potentially including iron and nickel. Scientists have proposed that it could be the exposed metallic core of an early planetary body whose outer layers were stripped away by collisions.
Studying the asteroid could therefore provide clues about how rocky planets formed and evolved.
Earth's core is hidden beneath thousands of miles of rock, making direct observation impossible. By studying a metal-rich object such as Psyche, researchers hope to learn more about the materials and processes that may have shaped planetary interiors.
The Mars Flyby Was a Science Test Run
The gravity assist also allowed NASA scientists to test Psyche's instruments in a planetary environment before the spacecraft reaches its asteroid target.
During the encounter, the mission team had an opportunity to operate instruments designed to investigate planetary surfaces and composition. The spacecraft's magnetometer and neutron spectrometer are among the tools that will be critical once Psyche reaches the metal-rich asteroid.
The Mars encounter thus served as both a navigation maneuver and a rehearsal for the spacecraft's main scientific mission.
Mars was the unexpected star of the journey. But Psyche's next major destination is far more mysterious: a metallic world that could ultimately help scientists understand what lies at the heart of planets, including our own.
