Psyche Mission Launches From Kennedy Space Center (Highlights)

Highlights from the Oct. 13, 2023, launch of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which will travel 2.2 billion miles to a metal-rich asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:19 a.m PDT (10:19 a.m. EDT).

The mission, which is the first to explore a metal-rich asteroid, aims to help scientists learn more about the formation of rocky bodies – including Earth – in our solar system. The Psyche spacecraft is equipped with four scientific investigations: the magnetometer, gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, multispectral imager, and gravity science experiment. In addition, a technology demonstration called Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) will fly on Psyche in order to test high-data-rate laser communications.

Psyche is scheduled to arrive at the asteroid in 2029 and orbit for about 26 months.