Gallery Type: Images

January 24, 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 Center in Florida. The spacecraft was powered...

December 20, 2021

Orbiting Asteroid Psyche (Illustration)

This illustration shows how NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will explore the asteroid Psyche, beginning with Orbit A when it arrives at the asteroid in early 2026. The initial orbit is designed...
Two thrusters are visible beneath red round protective covers, after being integrated into the spacecraft.

September 20, 2021

Psyche Thrusters: Integration Complete

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is photographed in July 2021 during the mission’s assembly, test, and launch operations phase at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern...
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/

September 20, 2021

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 this July 2021 photo. One of the thrusters...
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.

September 20, 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 the agency’s Psyche spacecraft in...
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.

September 2, 2021

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 what elements the surface is made of.

Image showing the neutron spectrometer component of the GRNS instrument. It has a series of tubes on a metal stand.

September 2, 2021

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 asteroid Psyche.

An image of a group people gathered in a building for a photo.

September 2, 2021

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 of the instruments they’ve been...
panoramic view of JPL's High Bay 2 area showing the bus (body) of the spacecraft and some engineers

August 24, 2021

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 – in the midst of system integration...
This artist's conception shows the Psyche spacecraft against a starry background orbiting above the heavily cratered surface of the Psyche asteroid.

June 22, 2021

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 spacecraft.

This artist's conception shows the Psyche spacecraft against a starry background orbiting above the heavily cratered surface of the Psyche asteroid.

June 16, 2021

Psyche Collision Illustration

This artist’s illustration imagines a violent collision early in Psyche’s history.

This artist's conception shows the Psyche spacecraft against a starry background orbiting above the heavily cratered surface of the Psyche asteroid.

June 16, 2021

Psyche Impact Illustration

This artist’s illustration imagines a violent collision early in Psyche’s history.