NASA's Psyche Mission Captured an Eerie Timelapse of Its Flyby of Mars - ScienceAlert

What the report says

ScienceAlert reported that NASA’s Psyche spacecraft recorded a striking time-lapse of Mars during a close flyby on May 15, 2026, as it continues its journey toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. The spacecraft passed about 4,600 kilometers, or 2,800 miles, above the Martian surface at more than 19,848 kilometers per hour, capturing views that included a crescent Mars, the south polar ice cap and Huygens crater.

The flyby served two main mission purposes, according to the report. It allowed teams to test and calibrate instruments, including observations of Mars’ bow shock, while also using the planet’s gravity to alter the spacecraft’s path. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory navigation lead Don Han said the maneuver added roughly 1,000 miles per hour to Psyche’s speed and shifted its orbital plane by about one degree relative to the Sun.

The spacecraft is headed for 16 Psyche, an asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter that scientists suspect may contain a large amount of metal. ScienceAlert noted that one hypothesis is that it could be the exposed or battered core of an early planet-building body, though its true composition remains uncertain.

Psyche launched in 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and is scheduled to reach the asteroid in summer 2029. The mission, involving NASA, Arizona State University, Caltech and other partners, carries imaging, spectrometer, magnetometer and radio science instruments, and has also tested deep-space optical communications using lasers.