LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — NASA on Friday (October 13) conducted Mission Psyche, the first American mission. In the study of metal-rich asteroids
Reports say that the Psyche spacecraft lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the southeastern US state of Florida at 10:19 a.m. ET on Friday (October 13). With the SpaceX Falcon Heavy transport rocket (SpaceX Falcon Heavy)
Shortly after its release the Falcon Heavy’s first and second core sections were separated. The rocket’s propellant returns to Earth in the SpaceX landing zone. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida near the Space Center.
The Psyche spacecraft will take approximately 6 years to travel to the asteroid Psyche, at a distance of 3.5 billion kilometers. Asteroid Psyche is rich in metals and is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
If all goes according to plan, asteroid Psyche’s gravity will attract the spacecraft in late July 2029, and the spacecraft will begin its first mission in August.
The spacecraft will take approximately two years to orbit the asteroid to take pictures. Surface mapping and gathering information to determine the asteroid’s psychic composition
Meanwhile, Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology will be tested on the spacecraft to test laser communications at high data rates. This could be used in future NASA missions.
Psyche is also NASA’s first science mission. NASA launched the mission on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to help scientists learn more about the formation of rocky planets in our solar system.
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