See the Stunning Images Psyche Beamed Back From Mars

A Probe Took Incredible Pictures of Mars on Its Way to a Far-Off Asteroid

NASA's Psyche probe performed a Mars gravity assist flyby in May 2026, passing within 4,609 km of the surface to calibrate cameras and spectrometers before its 2029 rendezvous with the metallic asteroid Psyche. The mission targets a planetesimal core remnant, offering a rare opportunity to model planetary interiors without drilling — relevant for long-term space resource and geological research roadmaps.