NASA's Psyche spacecraft just got an assist from Mars on the way to its asteroid namesake
Engadget | 16.05.2026 22:21
NASA's Psyche spacecraft has just flown closer to Mars than the planet's own moons en route to the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche. It was a planned maneuver so that the spacecraft can get gravity assist from the red planet and conserve fuel, specifically the xenon gas propellant its solar-electric ion thruster system uses. The flyby gave Psyche a speed boost and changed its trajectory so that it's now aligned with its target asteroid's orbit around the sun.
