Dec. 4 was a momentous day for NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, as it finally set its sights on space.
Since then launch On top of the space x falcon heavy The Oct. 13 rocket launch — in fact, the Heavy’s first interplanetary mission — meant that Psyche essentially traveled through space in the dark because scientists had not yet turned on the solar wing’s cameras. . We are currently in the middle of research. asteroid It is named after the 16 Psyches, which are located somewhere among our companions. solar system planet mars and Jupiter. In other words, this space rock is of great interest to planetary researchers because it is thought to be made of almost any material. Overall Metals, especially iron and nickel.
This is a huge problem because these are certain metals. earth’s coreSo 16 Psyche, in a sense, provides us with a roundabout way of analyzing the center of our own planet. This is something that is actually impossible for us to do directly. Then, on December 5th, the mission team was on its way to 16 Psyche. psyche The spacecraft’s imager (a pair of twin cameras) has officially taken the first space photo.
Shown above is a mosaic of raw data collected by the spacecraft on December 4, showing the following spread: Performer Seen from Psyche’s perspective. “Raw data” simply means that background noise in the image, such as external light signals, has not been extracted, but the team says it plans to work on such fine-tuning in the coming days. There is.
Like most of the seminal images from spaceborne lenses, this one has been aptly dubbed Psyche’s “first light.”
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“These first images are just the beginning,” says Jim Bell, leader of Arizona State University’s psych imager. stated in a statement. “First light is a thrill for the team who designed and operated this sophisticated equipment.”
Bell explains that the research team will use images of stars like this in preparation for 2026, when the rover will be able to perform a flyby of Mars and hopefully capture some spectacular views of the Red Planet. They plan to test how Psyche’s imaging device works. “And finally, in 2029, we will have the most exciting images yet of our target asteroid Psyche. We look forward to sharing all these images with the public.” ,” Bell said.
For those wondering about the specifics of the image, the portrait itself is actually comprised of a total of 68 individual images, all of which encapsulate the celestial object in Pisces. , simply because that’s where the camera happened to be facing when it was turned on. The brightest star observed is named Mu Pisces and has a magnitude of 4.9, while the other visible stars are between magnitudes 7 and 9.
In the context of the magnitude system, something with magnitude 0 is 100 times brighter than something with magnitude 5. The full moon’s magnitude as seen from Earth is -12.6, and Blue Walker 3 is the brightest satellite in the night sky. , reaching a peak magnitude of 0.4 (as you might imagine, astronomers aren’t too happy about that latter bit).
Furthermore, the field of view is approximately 8 degrees wide and 3.5 degrees high, the researchers said. Of his two cameras, aptly named “Imager A” and “Imager B,” A photographed the left half of the mosaic, and B photographed the right half. By taking a large number of such images and adjusting accordingly, the Psyche team hopes to pre-emptively equip the spacecraft with the appropriate settings before it begins collecting data on the asteroid target. . Scientists say that when they image 16 Psyche, they build a 3D map that includes both visible and invisible wavelengths emitted by the object.
Among other accomplishments, just last month, Psyche’s innovative deep space optical communications (DSOC) device sent a laser signal to Earth from some 10 million miles away, producing the first optical medal. It’s earned. The team is now turning its attention to the week of December 11th. At that time, the neutron detection sensor intended to analyze 16 Psyche’s chemical composition (presumably the mission’s main drum roll) also begins beeping.
Speak to me now, Psyche.