Psyche is on its way to begin exploring asteroid Psyche by August 2029. Scientists think the asteroid has a high metal content, and may be the partial core of a planetesimal, a building block of an early planet.
Psyche To Swing By Mars for Crucial Maneuver
On Friday, May 15, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars, flying close to the Red Planet to harness its gravitational pull. The maneuver will speed up and steer Psyche toward the metal-rich asteroid of the same name, one of the more unusual objects in our solar system, which the mission will begin studying in 2029.
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Watch along live with [NASA’s EYES on the Solar System web app](https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/sc_psyche/events/arrival)!
Fun fact: Psyche is in a category of missions that previously would have required a nuclear power source (RTG) because of how distant from the Sun it will be. Psyche’s solar arrays generated a whopping 20 kilowatts of power near Earth and will generate 2.3 kW when it’s orbiting 16 Psyche.