Meeting Time:
Tuesday 5:30-6:45pm
Project Description
Psyche, an asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter, is likely made largely of nickel-iron metal. As such, it offers a unique look into the violent collisions that created Earth and the terrestrial planets.
The NASA Psyche mission is led by ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative. The Psyche spacecraft launched in 2022 and is travelling to the asteroid using solar-electric propulsion. After flying by Mars in 2023 for a gravity assist, the spacecraft will arrive at Psyche in 2026 and spend 21 months orbiting the asteroid, mapping it, and studying its properties.
The EPICS team is starting the process to develop a future rover or other device to take samples of the asteroid. While the next launch is not for 10+ years, NASA and ASU are starting to plan the next mission.