We all live on this tiny dot: Earth and moon seen from 290 million km away
When choosing targets for the imager testing, scientists look for bodies that shine with reflected sunlight, just as the asteroid Psyche does. (Photo: Nasa)
These tests are more than just a photo opportunity; they're essential for ensuring that the spacecraft's imaging instruments are working flawlessly for their upcoming main task: studying the surface of asteroid Psyche in intricate detail.Imagers like the ones aboard Psyche reveal the color and spectral 'fingerprints' of planetary bodies, offering scientists valuable information about their composition.By training its cameras on familiar targets such as Earth, the Moon, Jupiter, and Mars, each boasting known spectral signatures, engineers can compare the new data from Psyche with previous mission data, checking both the accuracy and consistency of instrument performance.The Psyche team, led by Jim Bell of Arizona State University, likens the process to collecting 'solar system trading cards,' using images of well-known celestial objects to fine-tune and validate the instruments.'We may look at Saturn or Vesta next to continue to test the imagers,' Bell remarked, hinting at ongoing preparations before the Psyche spacecraft reaches its primary target. These recent checkouts also included successful tests of the probe's magnetometer and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. 'We are up and running, and everything is working well,' reported Bob Mase, the mission's project manager at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Next up, Psyche is set for a gravity-assist flyby of Mars in May 2026—another crucial step as it hurtles through two solar orbits and covers over 1.6 billion kilometers since its October 2023 launch.With each milestone, Psyche draws closer to unlocking the secrets of metallic worlds and the early days of our solar system.- Ends
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
NASA Launches AI Model To Understand Solar Eruptions, Predict Space Weather
NASA is raising the bar in solar science with the debut of the Surya Heliophysics Foundational Model, an artificial intelligence system built to decode the Sun's complex behavior. Trained on nine years of continuous observations from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Surya is designed to analyse vast amounts of solar data, helping scientists better understand solar eruptions and predict space weather that threatens satellites, power grids, and communication systems. Developed with IBM and other partners, Surya processes vast streams of solar data to provide insights that were once out of reach. The model already shows promise in one of heliophysics' toughest challenges: predicting solar flares. In collaboration with @NASA, we've open-sourced Surya on @huggingface — a new foundation model designed to help researchers protect infrastructure through accessible, accurate modeling of space weather. It's going to totally change how we forecast solar storms. See how.🧵 — IBM (@IBM) August 20, 2025 Early tests demonstrate that Surya can generate visual forecasts up to two hours in advance, outperforming current methods by 16%. NASA is making Surya openly available, the model on HuggingFace and the code on GitHub, to encourage scientists, educators, and innovators worldwide to build on its capabilities. The foundation of Surya's success lies in the unique dataset from SDO. Since its launch in 2010, the spacecraft has provided an unbroken, high-resolution record of the Sun, capturing images every 12 seconds across multiple wavelengths along with detailed magnetic field measurements. This 15-year archive, spanning an entire solar cycle, gives Surya the depth and consistency needed to detect subtle patterns in solar activity that shorter datasets would miss. NASA officials see Surya as a major step forward. "We are advancing data-driven science by embedding NASA's deep scientific expertise into cutting-edge AI models," said Kevin Murphy, chief science data officer at NASA Headquarters. "This model empowers broader understanding of how solar activity impacts critical systems and technologies that we all rely on here on Earth." Surya's development was supported by the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot, a National Science Foundation initiative with industry partners such as NVIDIA, providing the computing power needed for advanced AI research. As Joseph Westlake, director of NASA's Heliophysics Division, noted: "Just as we use meteorology to forecast Earth's weather, space weather forecasts predict the conditions and events in the space environment that can affect Earth and our technologies. Applying AI to data from our heliophysics missions is a vital step in increasing our space weather defense to protect astronauts and spacecraft, power grids and GPS, and many other systems that power our modern world."
News18
8 hours ago
- News18
Can Magnets Help Astronauts Breathe On Mars? NASA Shares Video Of Radical Tech
Last Updated: NASA Mars Oxygen Tech: From water to breathable air, NASA's new concept could reshape life support for deep space travel. NASA Mars Oxygen Tech: A future where astronauts breathe air on Mars not through bulky machines but through the quiet play of water, magnets and microgravity may not be science fiction for long. That is the vision behind a new study led by the Georgia Tech Research Corporation in collaboration with commercial partner Giner Labs, a long-time leader in space electrolysis technology. Living and working on Mars is not only about landing rockets or building habitats. It is also about something as basic as breathing. Astronauts on long journeys and on the Red Planet will need a steady, reliable source of oxygen, a resource that cannot be shipped in tanks from Earth. To meet that challenge, researchers working with NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program are testing an idea that sounds almost magical: using magnets and swirling water to make air in space. NASA, sharing a video on Wednesday, explained the project in a post that read, 'Living and working on Mars will require innovative technologies to produce oxygen for future explorers. That's why researchers, working with NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program, are developing a powerful new idea using swirling fluids and strong magnets to produce breathable air." At the heart of this concept is a magnetohydrodynamic electrolytic cell, a system that can split water into oxygen and hydrogen without any moving parts. In microgravity, where pumps or centrifuges are difficult to operate and maintain, this could be a game changer. Current machines depend on loops of water, pumps and filters to separate gases from liquids. In the new system, powerful magnetic fields take over the job, guiding the fluids so that oxygen and hydrogen separate naturally. Researchers estimate that this approach could reduce the weight and complexity of oxygen-generating equipment by as much as 50 percent compared to existing systems like the Oxygen Generation Assembly used on the International Space Station. For a Mars-bound crew of four, who would together consume around 3.36 kilograms of oxygen each day, such savings could mean lighter spacecraft, fewer spare parts and a more reliable life support system. If the concept proves successful, its impact could go beyond life support. The same principles could be used in water-based propulsion for small satellites or in future missions that harvest Martian ice to make oxygen and fuel directly on the planet. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
NDTV
8 hours ago
- NDTV
Fireball Lights Up Night Sky In Japan
A flashing fireball dashed across the skies of western Japan, shocking residents and dazzling stargazers, though experts said it was a natural phenomenon and not an alien invasion. Videos and photos emerged online of the extremely bright ball of light visible for hundreds of kilometres shortly after 11:00 pm (1400 GMT) local time on Tuesday. "A white light I had never seen before came down from above, and it became so bright that I could clearly see the shapes of the houses around us," Yoshihiko Hamahata, who was driving in Miyazaki Prefecture, told NHK. "It seemed like daylight. For a moment, I didn't know what had happened and was very surprised," he told the public broadcaster. Toshihisa Maeda, head of Sendai Space Museum in the Kagoshima region in southwestern Japan, said that it was a fireball, an exceptionally bright meteor. It seemed to have gone into the Pacific, he added. "People reported feeling the air vibrate," he told AFP. "It was as bright as the Moon." Objects causing fireball events can exceed one metre (three feet) in size, according to NASA. Fireballs that explode in the atmosphere are technically referred to as bolides, although the terms fireballs and bolides are often used interchangeably.
