Year on Psyche Simulation – Psyche 1825 – Orbital of a Metal World
INSTITUTION
Arizona State University (ASU)
CLASS
Iridium Class (2024 – 2025)
STUDENT TEAM
ACADEMIC GUIDANCE
Prasad Mahalpure
Jagruth Arutla
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Psyche 1825 – Orbital of a Metal World is an innovative, interactive simulation developed by a team of Arizona State University students in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Psyche mission team. Launched on October 13, 2023, the Psyche spacecraft is en route to explore a unique metallic asteroid—Psyche—offering humanity its first close-up look at a metal-rich celestial body. Our project brings this distant world to life by simulating what a year on Psyche might look like, blending scientific accuracy with an engaging user experience.
With a day cycle of just 4 hours and 12 minutes and an orbital year spanning 1,828 Earth days (approximately 5 Earth years), Psyche’s temporal rhythms starkly contrast with Earth’s. Our simulation captures this alien environment—featuring its potato-like shape, hypothesized metal-and-rock composition, and rotisserie-like rotation—through dynamic 3D visuals and interactive controls. Users can explore Psyche’s surface and orbit, experiencing its short days, long year, and metallic terrain from both a bird’s-eye orbital view and an immersive ground-level perspective.
Designed for students, space enthusiasts, educators, and the general public, Psyche 1825 aims to bridge the gap between raw scientific data and relatable understanding. By integrating real-time data from the Psyche mission with tools like Three.js for 3D rendering and React.js for a user-friendly interface, we’ve crafted an educational platform that highlights Psyche’s significance in planetary science and space exploration. Key features include adjustable timeflow to observe day/night cycles, temperature mapping, and orbital path visualizations—all optimized for accessibility across devices.
Our mission is to ignite curiosity and excitement about the Psyche mission and space exploration at large. As the spacecraft nears its target, we hope Psyche 1825 will serve as a vital tool for classrooms, public outreach, and scientific discourse, offering a window into a metal world 140 miles wide and fostering a deeper connection to the cosmos.
