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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 Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California work to integrate Hall thrusters into the agency’s Psyche spacecraft in... 09-20-2021
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 Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California prepare to integrate four Hall thrusters (beneath red protective covers) into... 09-20-2021
Image showing the gamma-ray spectrometer component of the GRNS instrument. It has a large central cannister with many wires and cables on a metal stand.
Psyche Gamma-Ray Spectrometer The Psyche gamma-ray spectrometer uses a high-purified germanium crystal to capture gamma rays emitted by asteroid Psyche. These gamma rays can reveal... 09-02-2021
Image showing the neutron spectrometer component of the GRNS instrument. It has a series of tubes on a metal stand.
Psyche Neutron Spectrometer The Psyche neutron spectrometer uses three cylinders filled with a gas of helium-3, an isotope of helium that will rapidly grab free neutrons emitted by... 09-02-2021
An image of a group people gathered in a building for a photo.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Psyche Team The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Psyche team gathered earlier this summer for a reception in Building 200. Members of the team hold images... 09-02-2021
panoramic view of JPL's High Bay 2 area showing the bus (body) of the spacecraft and some engineers
Spacecraft in Integration & Test NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is captured here on August 18, 2021, in a clean room at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California... 08-24-2021
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
illustration depicting Psyche colliding with another object with a bright explosion between the two.
Psyche Collision Illustration This artist’s illustration imagines a violent collision early in Psyche’s history. 06-16-2021
illustration depicting one object colliding with another and creating a fireball showing in blues, oranges, and yellows.
Psyche Impact Illustration This artist’s illustration imagines a violent collision early in Psyche’s history. 06-16-2021
Maxar engineers prepare the Psyche spacecraft bus for transport to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Transport The Maxar team prepares the Psyche Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Chassis for shipment to NASA’s JPL. Credit: Maxar Technologies 03-29-2021
Maxar engineers prepare the Psyche spacecraft bus for transport to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Transport The Maxar team prepares the Psyche Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Chassis for shipment to NASA’s JPL. Credit: Maxar Technologies 03-29-2021
Maxar engineers prepare the Psyche spacecraft bus for transport to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Transport The Maxar team prepares the Psyche Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Chassis for shipment to NASA’s JPL. Credit: Maxar Technologies 03-29-2021
Maxar engineers prepare the Psyche spacecraft bus for transport to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Transport Maxar engineers prepare the Psyche spacecraft bus for transport to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Credit: Maxar Technologies 03-29-2021
Maxar engineers prepare the Psyche spacecraft bus for transport to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Psyche Spacecraft Prepares for Transport The Maxar team prepares the Psyche Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Chassis for shipment to NASA’s JPL. Credit: Maxar Technologies 03-29-2021
An illustration, created in March 2021, of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which is targeted to launch to the main asteroid belt in August 2022 to investigate the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.
Psyche Spacecraft Illustration This illustration, updated as of March 2021, depicts NASA’s Psyche spacecraft. Set to launch in August 2022, the Psyche mission will explore a metal-rich... 03-29-2021
Large Regions of Rock and Metal: Psyche Asteroid Illustration This illustration depicts the 140-mile-wide (226-kilometer-wide) asteroid Psyche, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche... 03-29-2021