Orbit Details
orbit A
Duration:
56 days / 41 Orbits
Mission Focus: Characterization
Observe physical properties of the asteroid
Instruments Used:
Psyche Multispectral Imager
How It Will Be Used:
To Provide high-resolution images using filters to discriminate between Psyche’s metallic and silicate constituents
orbit B
Duration:
80 days / 169 orbits
Mission Focus: Topography
Study the forms and features of land surfaces
Instruments Used:
Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer
How It Will Be Used:
Detect, Measure, and Map Psyche’s Elemental Composition
orbit C
Duration:
100 days / 362 orbits
Mission Focus: Gravity science
Study the strength of the gravitational field of the asteroid
Instruments Used:
Psyche Magnetometer
How It Will Be Used:
Detect and Measure the Remanent Magnetic Field of the Asteroid
orbit D
Duration:
100 days / 684 orbits
Mission Focus: Elemental Mapping
Determine the chemical composition of the surface
Instruments Used:
Deep Space Optical Communication
How It Will Be Used:
Sophisticated new laser communication technology that will encodes data in photons (rather than radio waves) to communicate between a probe in deep space and Earth.
Psyche Mission
Launch:
August 2022
Mission to a Metal World
Psyche is both the name of an asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter — and the name of a NASA space mission to visit that asteroid, led by Arizona State University. The mission was chosen by NASA on January 4, 2017 as one of two missions for the agency’s Discovery Program, a series of relatively low-cost missions to solar system targets.
What to do:
Click one of the orbit buttons above to learn about the instruments used in the Psyche Mission!
Created by:
Mio Diaz-Santiago, Odhrán Doman-Kelly, Taren Lewis, Marissa Rossi
Disclaimer:
This work was created in partial fulfillment of Pennsylvania State University Capstone Course “SWENG 481″. The work is a result of the Psyche Student Collaborations component of NASA’s Psyche Mission (https://psyche.asu.edu/). “Psyche: A Journey to a Metal World” [Contract number NNM16AA09C] is part of the NASA Discovery Program mission to solar system targets. Trade names and trademarks of ASU and NASA are used in this work for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by Arizona State University or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU or NASA.