NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Buzzing Mars On Its Way To A Rare Metal Asteroid

NASA's Psyche spacecraft is performing a gravity assist maneuver by flying past Mars this week, capturing thousands of images as preparation for its 2029 rendezvous with a metal-rich asteroid. The spacecraft will pass within 2,800 miles of Mars, with its science instruments active for simultaneous observations with NASA's Mars rovers and orbiters. This flyby serves to fine-tune instruments and capture images of Mars before Psyche continues its journey to the asteroid belt.