• 2 min read
NASA’s Psyche Captures Mars in Color During Flyby
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft captured a color mosaic of Mars during its May 15, 2026 flyby, revealing craters, ridges and volcanic plains.
Image: iXBT
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft captured detailed, color-enhanced images of Mars during a May 15, 2026, flyby while traveling toward its namesake metallic asteroid. The images show craters, ridges, wind-shaped features and volcanic plains across the planet’s southern highlands.
The spacecraft’s multispectral camera recorded the scene over six minutes, producing a mosaic with resolutions ranging from 381 to 440 meters per pixel. Psyche crossed the visible disk from northeast to southwest, moving from right to left in the image.
The camera used near-infrared, green and blue filters to highlight differences between surface materials. The photographed area lies in the Iapygia region, covering approximately 62 to 78 degrees east longitude and 4 degrees north to 14 degrees south latitude.
The largest feature is the Fournier impact crater, which measures about 114 kilometers across and sits slightly below the center of the mosaic. Part of the extended Oenotria Scopuli escarpment system appears to the left of center. Oenotria Scopuli is associated with the ring structure of the large Isidis impact basin, located northeast of the imaged region.
Psyche’s asteroid mission
NASA launched Psyche to study the asteroid Psyche, which orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists believe the object has a high metal content and could be part of a planetesimal’s core—one of the building blocks from which the early planets formed.
Recommended reading
FireSat Satellites Launch to Catch Small Wildfires Early
The Mars flyby was part of the spacecraft’s route to its primary target. The asteroid’s gravity is expected to capture the spacecraft at the end of July 2029, with the main science program beginning in August. Psyche will then spend approximately two years orbiting the asteroid and examining its composition, structure and origin.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via iXBT
