Psyche Mission Description and Design Rationale

Area of Science:

• Planetary Science
• Asteroid Exploration
• Astrogeology

Background:

• The Psyche asteroid is the largest M-class asteroid, hypothesized to be an early planetesimal core.
• Its composition may reveal insights into planetary formation and differentiation.
• The Psyche mission is NASA's 14th Discovery Program mission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that Psyche is a differentiated planetary core.
• To investigate the composition and origin of the M-class asteroid Psyche.
• To demonstrate Deep Space Optical Communications technology.

Main Methods:

• The mission involves a journey to the asteroid Psyche, launched in October 2023.
• Orbital science phase includes mapping at four distinct altitudes.
• Utilizes three science instruments and a gravity science investigation.

Main Results:

• The paper details the mission's proposal and selection process.
• It outlines the science mission architecture and orbital phases.
• Discusses team structure and unique mission operations.

Conclusions:

• The Psyche mission aims to determine if the asteroid is a planetary core or primordial material.
• Data archiving and management are handled by the Science Data Center.
• The mission contributes to understanding small body evolution and planetary formation.