Psyche Spacecraft Mars Flyby Set for May 15, 2026

NASA's Psyche spacecraft is set to execute a close gravity-assist flyby of Mars on Friday, May 15, 2026, passing just 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) above the planet's surface at approximately 12,333 miles per hour (19,848 kilometers per hour). The maneuver will harness Mars' gravity to accelerate the probe and adjust its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche, its primary target in the main asteroid belt, with arrival planned for August 2029.

Launched on October 13, 2023, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the Psyche mission employs an innovative solar-electric propulsion system fueled by xenon gas. This efficient technology builds velocity gradually over the six-year journey, and the Mars encounter conserves propellant while providing a critical velocity boost. Mission planners conducted a trajectory correction maneuver on February 23, 2026, firing the spacecraft's thrusters for 12 hours to refine its path.

The flyby offers a prime opportunity to calibrate and test the spacecraft's instruments using Mars as a real-world target. Psyche's multispectral imager has already begun transmitting raw images since May 7, initially capturing the planet as a faint point...