In July, the interplanetary station “Psyche“ took a group portrait of the Earth and the Moon from an impressive distance of 290 million kilometers. Although a calibration photo, the image may go down in history as a powerful symbol of the fragility and triumph of human life. The photo reminds us that one planet is no longer enough for humanity and its gaze is directed towards space.
The “Psyche“ mission
The “Psyche“ station was launched in October 2023 to its target — the metallic asteroid of the same name. The device will make two orbits around the Sun before will arrive at its destination in 2029. The mission is to study the metallic core of an unborn planet.
The station has two identical multispectral cameras that will create a detailed map of the asteroid's surface. These cameras are constantly calibrated so that they are fully ready for scientific work upon arrival. The “Psyche“ team has already pointed its cameras at Mars and Jupiter to compare the images obtained with previously captured data.
On July 20 and 23, the cameras were pointed at the Earth and the Moon to capture a group portrait of the cradle of terrestrial civilization. The exposure of the photo was 10 seconds. The blue light reflected from the Earth was in contrast with the red light from Mars, which helped calibrate the cameras.
Flight graphics
In June of this year, the station accelerated, entering a trajectory for a rendezvous with Mars in May 2026. That maneuver was jeopardized in April when the station's engines shut down due to fuel line problems. They were eventually restored by switching to a backup channel.
In May of next year, Mars' gravity will be used to accelerate the station to the asteroid. The asteroid “Psyche“ is intriguing because it may be a copy or embryo of our planet's inner metallic core. Since we can't study the Earth's core, studying its “twin“ will provide invaluable data on planetary formation.