Author: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

May 22, 2024 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s Psyche Fires Up Its Sci-Fi-Worthy Thrusters

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft passed its six-month checkup with a clean bill of health, and there’s no holding back now. Navigators are firing its futuristic-looking electric thrusters, which...

April 25, 2024 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s Optical Comms Demo Transmits Data Over 140 Million Miles

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment also interfaced with the Psyche spacecraft’s communication system for the first time, transmitting engineering data to Earth. Riding aboard...

February 8, 2024 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser

Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN’s hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser from DSOC, aboard NASA’s Psyche mission. An experimental...

December 22, 2023 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space via Laser

The video, featuring a cat named Taters, was sent back from nearly 19 million miles away by NASA’s laser communications demonstration, marking a historic milestone. NASA’s Deep Space Optical...
Annotated version of the starfield image with stars labeled.

December 5, 2023 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s Psyche Delivers First Images and Other Data

The mission team has celebrated several successes since its launch from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 13, 2023. The latest is the operation of the spacecraft’s cameras. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft...

October 10, 2023 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 12, 2023, with a new target launch date. Slated to launch on Oct. 13 with the Psyche mission, DSOC will demonstrate technologies enabling the...
satellite with celestial body behind it

October 5, 2023 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

6 Things to Know About NASA’s Asteroid-Exploring Psyche Mission

The first-ever mission to study a metal-rich asteroid, Psyche aims to help scientists learn more about the formation of rocky bodies in our solar system. With a launch readiness date set for...
satellite with celestial body behind it

September 6, 2023 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Psyche Press Kit

NASA’s Psyche mission is the first to a metal-rich asteroid, which is also named Psyche. The agency is targeting a launch period that opens Oct. 5, 2023. The mission will ride to space on a...

April 4, 2022 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Shake and Bake: NASA’s Psyche Is Tested in Spacelike Conditions

To prepare for its launch in August, the Psyche spacecraft was tested to ensure it can operate in the extreme conditions it will face on its trip to a metal-rich asteroid. Read article

December 20, 2021 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

How NASA’s Psyche Mission Will Explore an Unexplored World

Launching in August 2022 and arriving at the asteroid in 2026, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will orbit a world we can barely pinpoint from Earth and have never visited. Read article

Two thrusters are visible beneath red round protective covers, after being integrated into the spacecraft.

September 20, 2021 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Solar Electric Propulsion Makes NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Go

Futuristic electric thrusters emitting a cool blue glow will guide the Psyche spacecraft through deep space to a metal-rich asteroid. Read article

panoramic view of JPL's High Bay 2 area showing the bus (body) of the spacecraft and some engineers

August 24, 2021 / Jet Propulsion Laboratory

One Year Out: NASA’s Psyche Mission Moves Closer to Launch

As part of NASA’s Discovery Program, the mission to explore a metal-rich asteroid is well on its way to an August 2022 launch. With NASA’s Psyche mission now less than a year from launch,...