Psyche (spacecraft)
Psyche (/ˈsaɪki/ SY-kee) is a NASA Discovery Program space mission launched on October 13, 2023 to explore the origin of planetary cores by orbiting and studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche beginning in 2029. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project.
An illustration of the Psyche spacecraft | |||||||||||
| Mission type | Asteroid orbiter | ||||||||||
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| Operator | |||||||||||
| COSPAR ID | 2023-157A | ||||||||||
| SATCAT no. | 58049 | ||||||||||
| Website |
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| Mission duration | Cruise: 5 years, 10 months (planned) Science: 21 months in orbit | ||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||
| Spacecraft | Psyche | ||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Maxar Technologies | ||||||||||
| Launch mass | 2,608 kg (5,750 lb) | ||||||||||
| Dry mass | 1,648 kg (3,633 lb) | ||||||||||
| Payload mass | 30 kg (66 lb) | ||||||||||
| Power | 4.5 kW | ||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||
| Launch date | October 13, 2023 | ||||||||||
| Rocket | Falcon Heavy | ||||||||||
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A | ||||||||||
| Contractor | SpaceX | ||||||||||
| 16 Psyche orbiter | |||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | August 2029 | ||||||||||
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Psyche mission patch | |||||||||||
The spacecraft will not land on the asteroid, but will orbit it from August 2029 through late 2031. Psyche uses solar-powered Hall-effect thrusters for propulsion and orbital maneuvering, the first interplanetary spacecraft to use that technology. It's also the first mission to use laser optical communications beyond the Earth-Moon system.
Asteroid 16 Psyche is the heaviest known M-type asteroid, and may be an exposed iron core of a protoplanet, the remnant of a violent collision with another object that stripped off its mantle and crust. On January 4, 2017, the Psyche mission was selected for NASA's Discovery #14 mission. It was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.