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Thumbnail image showing the Psyche spacecraft communicating with Earth via the Deep Space Optical Communications laser.
Testing Space Lasers for Deep Space Optical Communications ...How might lasers revolutionize deep space communications? NASA will test high-bandwidth laser (or optical) communications for the first time beyond... 09-28-2023
Psyche Mission Launches From Kennedy Space Center (Highlights) ...Jupiter. Psyche lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:19 a.m PDT (10:19 a.m. EDT). The mission, which is the first to explore... 10-13-2023
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... 12-19-2023
Psyche Mission Prepares for Launch to a Metal World (News Briefing) ...The Psyche mission is expected to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 12, 2023, at 7:16 a.m. PT / 10:16 a.m. ET. Join experts... 10-12-2023
Psyche Transport from Astrotech to LC 39A ...Teams transport NASA’s encapsulated Psyche spacecraft from the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy... 10-11-2023
NASA Psyche Online Courses ...at Arizona State University (ASU) has recently developed a series of free online courses based on the real-world challenges of running a space mission.... 01-25-2020
Psyche Launches to a Metal Asteroid (Official NASA Broadcast) ...Watch the Psyche spacecraft launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. NASA and SpaceX are now targeting... 10-13-2023
NASA’s Psyche: Picking up Launch Prep for 2023 ...NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room on Dec. 8, 2022, at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space... 01-24-2023
ascent timeline
Psyche Launch Ascent Timeline ...chassis. JPL also is providing a technology demonstration instrument called Deep Space Optical Communications that will fly on Psyche in order to test... 09-11-2023
orbital operations graph
Psyche Orbital Operations ...demonstration instrument called Deep Space Optical Communications that will fly on Psyche in order to test high-data-rate laser communications that... 09-11-2023
NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Mate to Payload Attach Fitting (PAF) ...Technicians connected NASA’s Psyche spacecraft to the payload attach fitting inside the clean room at Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville,... 09-25-2023
NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Mate to Payload Attach Fitting (PAF) ...Technicians connected NASA’s Psyche spacecraft to the payload attach fitting inside the clean room at Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville,... 09-25-2023
Psyche Liftoff ...NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 10:19... 11-02-2023
At the top of the image it says "Psyche - Journey to a Metal World" and below are two planets colliding.
ASU KEDtalk: Psyche – Journey to a Metal World ...Lindy Elkins-Tanton is a planetary scientist and director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. She’s also one... 12-03-2017
NASA’s Psyche Gets Its Huge Solar Arrays Permanently Installed ...The solar arrays for NASA’s Psyche mission underwent a final deployment test and were permanently installed on the spacecraft at Astrotech Space Operations... 08-03-2023
psyche team
New Video Series Reveals What Drives NASA’s Psyche Mission Team ...something that will be rocketed into space, never to be seen again on our planet? For the scientists, engineers, and technicians behind NASA’s Psyche... 08-21-2023
Mission to Psyche: One Year Into the Spacecraft’s Journey to a Metal-Rich Asteroid ...metal core and the formation of our solar system. The spacecraft will begin orbiting the asteroid Psyche in 2029. Riding along with the spacecraft is... 10-29-2024
Photo of Lindy Elkins-Tanton
Lindy Elkins-Tanton ...Lindy Elkins-Tanton is a planetary scientist with expertise in planet formation and evolution. She is the Director of the School of Earth and Space... 12-03-2017
This image shows a black circular wheel with rectangular holes cut out and many tiny "teeth" along the outer rim.
Psyche Multispectral Imager Filter Wheel ...A photo of one of the Psyche Multispectral Imager flight filter wheels, recently completed by Malin Space Science Systems’ mechanisms subcontractor... 04-20-2020
This black-and-white image shows the ceiling of a lab with a man in a mask and glasses looking down.
Psyche Multispectral Imager: First Light ...assemble individual filter images into true color and false color composites) was taken this past week in the electronics lab at Malin Space Science... 04-20-2020
Scientist in a lab wearing masks while holding their thumbs up.
Thumbs-up for Ion Propulsion ...series of stress tests to ensure they can operate together in the extreme conditions of deep space. In the background, a monitor projects the image... 07-14-2020
This image is of the main body of the spacecraft (the bus) in a factory space surrounded by engineers.
Psyche Spacecraft ...distribution assembly, the X-band telecommunications hardware suite, three science instruments (two imagers, two magnetometers, and a gamma-ray neutron... 03-29-2021
This image is a closeup underside view of the main body of the spacecraft (the bus) with a engineers nearby inspecting hardware.
Psyche Spacecraft ...Ray Neutron Spectrometer), and a deep space optical communications technology demonstrator. The spacecraft will finish assembly and then undergo rigorous... 03-29-2021
This image is of the main body of the spacecraft (the bus) in a factory space surrounded by engineers.
Psyche Spacecraft ...hardware suite, three science instruments (two imagers, two magnetometers, and a Gamma-Ray Neutron Spectrometer), and a deep space optical communications... 03-29-2021
panoramic view of JPL's High Bay 2 area showing the bus (body) of the spacecraft and some engineers
Spacecraft in Integration & Test ...By spring of 2022, the fully assembled Psyche spacecraft will ship from JPL to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for launch. In early 2026, the spacecraft... 08-24-2021
Psyche Encapsulation ...Technicians encapsulate NASA’s Psyche spacecraft in its payload fairings – the cone at the top of the rocket – at the Astrotech Space Operations... 10-11-2023
Psyche Encapsulation ...Technicians encapsulate NASA’s Psyche spacecraft in its payload fairings – the cone at the top of the rocket – at the Astrotech Space Operations... 10-11-2023
Psyche Encapsulation ...Technicians encapsulate NASA’s Psyche spacecraft in its payload fairings – the cone at the top of the rocket – at the Astrotech Space Operations... 10-11-2023
Psyche Solar Electric Propulsion Engineer Julie Li – Behind the Spacecraft ...questions about Earth’s own metal core and the formation of our solar system. Scheduled to launch on Oct. 5, 2023, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center... 09-13-2023
Thumbnail illustration showing asteroid and spacecraft.
Imaging a Metal World ...Jim Bell of Arizona State University, along with his instrument team, developed this critical technology in collaboration with Main Space Science Systems.... 09-28-2023
Psyche: A Heavy Metal Tribute to #MissionToPsyche ...the Psyche Inspired program (https://psyche.asu.edu/get-involved/psyche-inspired/) Ready to get spacecrafty yourself? Anyone can submit creative works... 09-29-2023
#MissionToPsyche: The Science Behind the Psyche Spacecraft (News Briefing) ...deputy PI and magnetometer lead, Massachusetts Institute of Technology David Oh, chief engineer for operations, NASA JPL Abi Biswas, Deep Space Optical... 10-12-2023
Small green glass rectangle on white woven material.
Psyche Multispectral Imager: Green Filter ...a company named Materion Precision Optics in Westford, Massachusetts, and the photo was taken by Mike Ravine, Psyche’s Instrument Manager at Malin... 04-21-2020
Psyche_Mission_Instrument_GammaRaySpectrometer_b_201029
Gamma-Ray Spectrometer ...Images of the Psyche Gamma-Ray Spectrometer flight unit lid with its “special part number,” next to the fully-built engineering test unit. This... 10-29-2020
panoramic view of JPL's High Bay 2 area filled with technical equipment and some engineers
DSOC in High Bay 2 ...The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration arrived at JPL’s High Bay 2 in preparation for integration onto the Psyche... 06-22-2021
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California prepare to integrate four Hall thrusters (beneath red protective covers) into the agency's Psyche spacecraft in July 2021.
Preparing Psyche’s Thruster Installation ...thrusters will be used for the first time beyond lunar orbit, demonstrating that they could play a role in supporting future missions to deep space.... 09-20-2021
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California work to integrate Hall thrusters into the agency's Psyche spacecraft in this July 2021 photo. One of the thrusters is visible on the side of the spacecraft beneath a red protective cover. Psyche is set to launch in August 2022 and will travel to its target, a metal-rich asteroid also named Psyche, under the power of solar electric propulsion. This super-efficient mode of propulsion uses solar arrays to capture sunlight that is converted into electricity to power the spacecraft's Hall thrusters. They work by turning xenon gas, a neutral gas used in car headlights and plasma TVs, into xenon ions. As the xenon ions are accelerated out of the thruster, they create the thrust that will propel the spacecraft. This will be the first use of Hall thrusters beyond lunar orbit, demonstrating that they could play a role in supporting future deep space missions. Arizona State University in Tempe leads the Psyche mission. JPL is responsible for the mission's overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, supplied the thrusters and built the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. For more information about NASA's Psyche mission, go to: http://www.nasa.gov/psyche or https://psyche.asu.edu/
Psyche’s Thruster Integration Underway ...This will be the first use of Hall thrusters beyond lunar orbit, demonstrating that they could play a role in supporting future deep space missions.... 09-20-2021
Two thrusters are visible beneath red round protective covers, after being integrated into the spacecraft.
Psyche Thrusters: Integration Complete ...that will propel the spacecraft. This will be the first use of Hall thrusters beyond lunar orbit, demonstrating that they could play a role in supporting... 09-20-2021
Orbiting Asteroid Psyche (Illustration) ...propulsion chassis. The development of the multispectral imager is led by Arizona State University, in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems... 12-20-2021
psyche arrival graph
Psyche Mission Timeline Image ...key milestones of the prime mission. The test periods for NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration are indicated... 09-11-2023
Psyche Launch ...A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft onboard is launched from Launch Complex 39A, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space... 11-02-2023
Launch Complex 39A ...onboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Psyche mission, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in... 11-02-2023