Psyche mission Mars fly-by

As you might know, the asteroid Psyche 16 was the inspiration to my novel Rock Hopper. I later learned that NASA was planning a mission to that very asteroid arriving in 2029. As you can imagine there's not much happening while the spacecraft is travelling through space. And no news is probably good news while we wait for it to reach the destination. However, in May this year 2026, the spacecraft made an important visit on the way, using Mars's gravity to boost its speed and set the final course to the asteroid.

NASA has now released a video of the fly-by with a pretty interesting timelapse animation with close-up images of the surface of Mars, where you can see wind-blown craters and even the icy south pole. I'm really looking forward to see the spacecraft reaching Psyche. Safe journey, little fella! You can read more at the NASA Psyche mission website. Here's the video of the Mars encounter: