A Probe Took Incredible Pictures of Mars on Its Way to a Far-Off Asteroid

The Psyche probe, launched in October 2023 on its way to the metallic asteroid it studies, recently performed a flyby of Mars to take advantage of its gravitational pull and continue its trajectory toward the asteroid belt. During the maneuver, the spacecraft obtained new images of the red planet.

Psyche passed within 4,609 kilometers, or 2,864 miles, of the Martian surface, and was boosted to a higher velocity after completing the gravity assist. On the approach, NASA activated onboard cameras, magnetometers, and gamma ray and neutron spectrometers to calibrate each instrument using the planet’s atmosphere and terrain.

In recent images released by the space agency, the rugged Martian surface can be seen in detail, along with traces of the solar wind that, around craters and the south polar cap, is rich in water ice.

“We’ve captured thousands of images of the approach to Mars and of the planet’s surface and atmosphere at close approach. This dataset provides unique and important opportunities for us to calibrate and characterize the performance of the cameras, as well as test the early versions of our image processing tools being developed for use at the asteroid Psyche,” said Jim Bell, Psyche’s imager instrument lead at Arizona State University.

One of the first pictures taken by the Psyche mission.

Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

According to the mission scientists, after its flyby of Mars, the probe reached a speed of 1,600 kilometers (or 994 miles) per hour while moving its orbit by one degree. The goal is to reach Psyche in the summer of 2029.

Close approach to the south polar cap of Mars, where it is likely that water can be extracted.

Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU