Psyche Mission : NASA
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is set to embark on a groundbreaking mission to explore a metal-rich asteroid named Psyche.
- Psyche mission will span nearly six years and cover approximately 3.6 billion kilometers.
- The asteroid orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
- It is believed to be a remnant core of a planetesimal, composed primarily of iron-nickel metal.
- Studying it from orbit could provide invaluable insights into the composition of Earth’s core.
- In addition to its primary mission, the Psyche spacecraft will also host a pioneering technology demonstration known as NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
- This laser communications system aims to test high-bandwidth optical communications back to Earth during the first two years of Psyche’s journey.
- This experiment could revolutionise how data is transmitted across vast distances in space, potentially enhancing our ability to explore the farthest reaches of the solar system.
- NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for mission management, operations and navigation.
