A metal-rich asteroid, reached by way of Mars
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Psyche is a NASA spacecraft that launched on 13 October 2023 to orbit an asteroid of the same name, a metal-rich body in the main belt that may be the exposed core of a planetary building block. On 15 May 2026 it flew past Mars, which bent its path toward the asteroid, where it is due to arrive in 2029.
2 video perspectives
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2:12
NASA's Psyche spacecraft, launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 13, 2023, is set for a Mars gravity-assist flyby on May 15, 2026.
Published 8 May 2026
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3:09
On May 15, 2026, NASA's Psyche spacecraft passed about 2,864 miles from Mars and received a gravity assist on its way to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.
Published 17 Jul 2026