Credits: NASA\/Mick Speer<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cWe ensure the project teams have all the resources they need to execute the project, monitor costs and schedules to keep the project on track and on time, and work closely with the payload and launch teams throughout the flight mission,\u201d said Brad Zavodsky, Psyche mission manager in Marshall\u2019s Planetary Missions Program Office.<\/p>\n
Joel Robinson, DSOC mission manager at Marshall, concurs. He and Zavodsky serve as \u201cconduits,\u201d he said, between directorate-level technology and science leadership at NASA Headquarters and the Psyche and DSOC project leadership \u2013 both of which, serendipitously, are managed at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<\/p>\n
The program office teams at Marshall include program planning and control personnel, independent technical authorities, and procurement and acquisition specialists. These technical experts provide the Psyche and DSOC missions with all necessary guidance and direction throughout their respective development and programmatic life cycles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means a number of presentations, weekly telecons, and periodic reviews,\u201d Robinson said, \u201cbut it\u2019s all worth it as we count down to launch. All that oversight helps facilitate delivery of a robust payload \u2013 one that\u2019s ready for launch and ready to extend humanity\u2019s reach into the solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Led by principal investigator Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton at Arizona State University, Psyche is set to be lofted to space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy \u2013 the first interplanetary launch of that rocket \u2013 from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center at 9:34 a.m. CDT on Oct. 5.<\/p>\n
Powered by solar electric propulsion, Psyche\u2019s flight to the asteroid will take six years; it will reach its destination in 2029 and begin a 26-month period of scheduled scientific observations, gathering images and data to shed new light on the asteroid\u2019s history and composition.<\/p>\n
The Psyche asteroid, orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, measures roughly 173 miles at its widest point. Researchers are keen to determine whether it may have been the core of a planetesimal, part of an early planet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know a good deal about Earth\u2019s core, but we can\u2019t study it directly because of its depth below the crust and mantle,\u201d Zavodsky said. \u201cInvestigating Psyche is perhaps the closest we can come. Studying its composition and structure is an exciting opportunity to learn more about such objects in space \u2013 and perhaps a little something about our own planet as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should the Psyche spacecraft encounter challenges during flight, Zavodsky\u2019s team will assist mission managers at JPL and Arizona State University, for whom Marshall oversees the project management and principal investigator contracts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll maintain direct engagement with the project team and NASA decision-making authorities,\u201d he said. \u201cShould an issue arise, the project will be prepared to stand up anomaly response teams to understand and resolve those challenges. Our program office will support that effort as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the DSOC technology demonstrator is set to pursue its own mission, sending and receiving test data from Earth using a near-invisible infrared laser and sensitive photon-counting camera. It will mark NASA\u2019s farthest-ever test of high-bandwidth optical communications \u2013 paving the way for broadband communications when NASA sends astronauts to Mars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re tackling the twin issues of bandwidth and transmission rate to expand and refine our data-gathering ability from missions beyond the Moon,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cWe can\u2019t transmit data faster than the speed of light, but we can do far more with advanced optical systems of the same size and power requirements as traditional radio systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building on the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration mission flown on the International Space Station in 2013 and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, launched to geostationary orbit above Earth in 2021, the DSOC effort is the first to experiment with ultra-long-range, laser-based communications.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to take optical communications capabilities into deep space for the first time,\u201d Robinson said. <\/p>\n
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