NASA's Psyche spacecraft is well on its way to the asteroid belt after a successful gravity assist from Mars in May, and the agency has just released a captivating timelapse of the encounter. The video, stitched from thousands of images taken by the multispectral imager, shows the crescent Mars upon arrival, detailed surface features, and the icy south pole as the spacecraft departed.
The flyby tested the imager's capabilities and provided rare views of the Red Planet
Jim Bell, Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University, stated that the imager performed brilliantly, delivering rarely seen views. The spacecraft began its approach on May 2 and made its closest approach on May 15. The maneuver gave Psyche a speed boost and adjusted its trajectory toward the asteroid Psyche, saving propellant for the long journey. The spacecraft is expected to reach its target in 2029.
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Beyond the aesthetic value, the team used the flyby to calibrate the instrument's sensitivity to scattered light and to spot Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos from afar, practicing for a future search for moonlets around the asteroid Psyche. This mission highlights the growing role of AI in space exploration, a topic also discussed in articles like China's AI overtake over Europe. For more on planetary flybys, see the Wikipedia entry on the Psyche spacecraft.
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Source: https://www.engadget.com/2218251/nasa-mars-timelapse-psyche-spacecraft-close-approach
