Scientists on the imaging team, led by Arizona State University, captured multiple long-exposure (up to 10-second) pictures of the two bodies, which appear as dots sparkling with reflected sunlight amid a starfield in the constellation Aries. The observations help the team determine how the cameras respond to solar system objects that shine by reflected sunlight, just like the Psyche asteroid.
In January 2025, Psyche captured an image that included Mars, Jupiter, and the Jovian moons Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.
The main image here was captured by Psyche’s primary camera, Imager A, on July 23; Figure A was captured by the backup camera, Imager B, on July 20. Both images are annotated with labels indicating Earth, the Moon, and several stars.
Figure A
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The Psyche mission is led by ASU. Lindy Elkins-Tanton of the University of California, Berkeley is the principal investigator. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. ASU leads the operations of the imager instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego on the design, fabrication, and testing of the cameras.
Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of a NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the Kennedy Space Center, managed the launch service.
For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission, go to:
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