NASA Psyche Captures 1.14-Km View of Mars' South Polar Cap After Gravity Assist
Updated
Updated · SETI Institute · Jun 3
NASA Psyche Captures 1.14-Km View of Mars' South Polar Cap After Gravity Assist
1 articles · Updated · SETI Institute · Jun 3
Summary
NASA’s Psyche mission released its highest-resolution image yet of Mars’ water ice-rich south polar cap, showing terrain at about 1.14 kilometers per pixel.
The image was taken May 15 by Imager A during the spacecraft’s close Mars flyby, which provided a gravity assist on its way deeper into the solar system.
Mars’ south polar cap spans more than 700 kilometers, giving the mission a detailed look at one of the planet’s major ice-rich regions during the pass.
With the flyby complete, Psyche will restart solar-electric propulsion and head for the main asteroid belt, aiming to enter orbit around asteroid Psyche in August 2029.