NASA's Psyche Spacecraft Performs Mars Gravity Assist Manuever: Image Timelapse
This timelapse uses images captured by NASA’s Psyche spacecraft between May 2 and May 31, 2026, during the spacecraft’s approach, close approach, and departure while the mission performed a Mars gravity assist.
Created from thousands of images, the sequence begins with Mars as a small crescent in the distance. During close approach on May 15, the Red Planet’s cratered surface fills the imager instrument’s field of view. As the spacecraft departs Mars, the changing perspective reveals the planet’s icy south pole.
Launched in October 2023, NASA's Psyche spacecraft is on a journey of more than 2 billion miles (3.6 billion kilometers) to explore the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. The mission is expected to arrive in 2029 to study what scientists believe is the exposed metal-rich core of an ancient planet. The Mars flyby provided the gravity assist needed to continue that journey.
Beyond creating this time-lapse, by capturing thousands of observations of Mars with the spacecraft’s multispectral imager, engineers can now hone the precise imaging and navigation techniques required to orbit the asteroid Psyche.
For more information, go to https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/
Produced by True Story Films
Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds
Release Date: July 17, 2026
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