Nasa's Psyche spacecraft photographs Mars as glowing crescent
Updated
Updated · India Today · May 10
Nasa's Psyche spacecraft photographs Mars as glowing crescent
5 articles · Updated · India Today · May 10
The image was taken on 3 May from about 4.8 million kilometres away, ahead of the spacecraft's closest Mars flyby on 15 May.
Psyche is using Mars for a gravity assist to speed its journey to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, which it is expected to reach in 2029.
Nasa said the multispectral camera image, exposed for 2 milliseconds, also helps calibrate instruments; dust, haze and the north polar ice cap may explain its unusual crescent appearance.
How does Psyche's May 15th Mars flyby advance the technology needed for future human exploration of space?
Will NASA's mission to asteroid Psyche reveal it is the priceless metal core of a long-dead planet?