NASA's Psyche spacecraft was shown off to the world as the space agency prepares for its summer launch. Read more details at Engineering
for civilians — protective smock-wearing members of the media — to see before engineers make the final adjustments and the machine is sent to Florida in anticipation of liftoff in August.
The spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida before making a roughly three-year trip to Psyche 16, an asteroid that could be a target forOne early estimate suggested the roughly 173-mile-wide Psyche 16 contains approximately $700 quintillion in heavy metals, though this initial analysis has been cast in doubt by follow-up studies.
The only recourse left is to actually travel to the asteroid, which is exactly what NASA will do with its Psyche mission. Now, NASA is showcasing its spacecraft to the world thanks to the press event it held on Monday, April 11, during which the asteroid-bound machine was on full display.NASA/JPL-Caltech
"Welcoming reporters into the cleanroom gives the public a glimpse of the years of hard work that have gone into this mission," explained Brian Bone, Psyche's assembly, test, and launch operations manager at JPL."Thanks to the Psyche team's determination and skill, we're in the final stretch of readying the spacecraft to head out to our launch site in Florida."
All press attendees were required to clean their equipment with isopropyl alcohol and wear protective smocks and hair coverings before going into the High Bay 2 cleanroom in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Spacecraft Assembly Facility.NASA's Psyche spacecraft will perform a flyby of Mars in May 2023, which will give it a gravity assist, powering it on towards Psyche 16. In early 2026, the spacecraft will reach and start to orbit the large asteroid.
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