NASAS Psyche Spacecraft Snaps Stunning Images of Earth and Moon During Test Run
PASADENA, CA – NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, en route to a unique metal-rich asteroid, has successfully captured test images of Earth and the Moon, providing a crucial check of its camera systems and demonstrating capabilities for future deep-space observation. The images, released today, showcase the spacecraft’s ability to function as expected during its long journey to the asteroid belt.
The images where taken by psyche’s Hall Effect Thruster System (HETS) during a series of tests conducted in May 2024. These weren’t simply aesthetic exercises; they served as a vital calibration step for the spacecraft’s imager, confirming its functionality after launch and before it reaches its primary target: the asteroid 16 Psyche.
The Psyche mission, years in the making, aims to explore the asteroid 16 Psyche, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Unlike most asteroids,which are rocky or icy,16 Psyche is believed to be largely composed of metallic iron and nickel - potentially the exposed core of an early planet. Studying this asteroid could provide unprecedented insights into the formation of planetary cores and the early solar system.
The spacecraft launched on October 13, 2023, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. However, the mission faced initial challenges. Shortly after launch, engineers discovered anomalies with some of the spacecraft’s instruments. These issues have been addressed through software updates and careful recalibration, and the accomplished image capture demonstrates the effectiveness of those efforts.
The images themselves are striking, showing Earth and the Moon as bright points of light against the blackness of space. They were captured using a filter designed to observe short wavelengths of light, and the team is analyzing the data to refine the imager’s performance.
“These images are a fantastic first look at the capabilities of the Psyche spacecraft,” said a NASA spokesperson. ”They demonstrate that the camera is working as expected and will be invaluable for navigating to and studying the asteroid Psyche.”
The Psyche mission is a collaborative effort led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, with contributions from Arizona State University (ASU). The mission is part of NASA’s Discovery Program, which supports relatively low-cost missions with focused scientific goals.
The spacecraft is expected to arrive at 16 Psyche in August 2029. Over the following two years, Psyche will orbit the asteroid, gathering data on its composition, magnetic field, and surface features. Scientists hope this data will reveal clues about the processes that shaped the early solar system and the formation of terrestrial planets like Earth.
Sources:
NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/psyche-mission/nasas-psyche-captures-images-of-earth-moon/
NASA Science: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/16-psyche/
* NASA Earth Observatory: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-atmosphere/earth-from-space-15-amazing-things-in-15-years/