Journey to a metal world
Psyche
Psyche launched on 13 October 2023 on a Falcon Heavy, bound for asteroid 16 Psyche in the outer main belt. Radar and telescope studies suggest the asteroid is unusually rich in metal — possibly part of the core of an early planetary building block.
It is due to arrive in 2029 after a gravity assist from Mars.
Key facts
- Agency
- NASA / JPL
- Launched
- 2023-10-13
- Launch vehicle
- Falcon Heavy
- Power
- Solar arrays; Hall-effect electric thrusters
- Mission type
- Asteroid orbiter
- Arrival
- 2029 (planned)
- Status
- Cruising with solar-electric propulsion
Where it is now
Loading live position from NASA/JPL Horizons…
Asteroid 16 Psyche, arriving in 2029.
Mission objectives
Psyche will determine whether the asteroid is a remnant core, how old its surface is, and what its composition, magnetic field and topography reveal about the formation of rocky planets — including Earth's own inaccessible core.
The spacecraft
Psyche cruises with Hall-effect thrusters that ionise xenon gas and accelerate it with electric fields, producing gentle but continuous thrust. Its instruments are a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer and a magnetometer, plus radio gravity science.
Laser communications
Psyche carried NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, which demonstrated sending data by laser from far beyond the Moon.
Journey so far
Since launch Psyche has been spiralling outward using electric propulsion. A Mars gravity assist was scheduled for 2026, setting up its 2029 arrival.
Route and timeline
- 2023-10-13Launch on Falcon Heavy, Kennedy Space Center
- 2026-05Mars gravity assistplanned
- 2029-08Arrival at Psycheplanned
Surprising facts about Psyche
- 16 Psyche was the sixteenth asteroid ever discovered, in 1852.
- Electric propulsion gives Psyche very gentle thrust — but it can run for months at a time.
- Studying Psyche may be the closest we can come to visiting a planet's core.