NASA'S PSYCHE MISSION: EXPLORATION OF A METAL WORLD (Invited Presentation)

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft launched on October 13, 2023, and is now cruising to asteroid (16) Psyche, the largest M-type (metallic) asteroid in the Solar System. Selected as the 14th Discovery robotic mission in 2017, the Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University and will be the first orbiter of a M-type asteroid. The mission design is based on NASA’s Dawn mission at Vesta & Ceres, and uses instruments with a strong heritage from past missions. The science objectives we plan to investigate include: 1) Determine whether Psyche is an exposed planetary core, or is it primordial un-melted material; 2) Determine the relative ages of regions of Psyche’s surface; 3) Determine whether small metal bodies incorporate the same light elements into the metal phase as are expected in Earth’s high-pressure core; 4) Determine whether Psyche was formed under conditions more oxidizing or more reducing than Earth’s core; and 5) Determine the unique topography and geology of this metal world. Our spacecraft will enter orbit of (16) Psyche in Aug. 2029 for a 26-month nominal mission. The spacecraft will study the surface using a pair of multispectral imagers (clear filter & 7 color filters, for surface morphology, stereo topography, and mineralogical assessment), a gamma-ray & neutron spectrometer (for elemental abundances), and dual fluxgate magnetometers (to search for a remanent magnetic field). A gravity investigation using tracking of the spacecraft’s radio signal is also planned. Our mission will characterize surficial geologic features, topography, and compositions through four consecutively lower orbital phases, each optimized to obtain data to accomplish our science objectives. We will: 1) map ≥80% of the surface with clear filter at ≤500m pixel scale (ps) (assess metal to silicate fraction), 2) map ≥80% of the surface at ≤200m ps (spectral detection of oldhamite, (Ca,Mg)S), 3) map ≥50% of the surface with clear filter at ≤200m ps (crater counting), 4) map ≥80% of the surface with clear filter at ≤20m ps (geologic mapping), and 5) determine the shape of (16) Psyche by mapping with clear filter over ≥ 80% of its surface with ≤ 200m ps using stereo imaging techniques. This presentation discusses details of our mission.