Scheduled for launch around the original airing of this program, the Psyche mission will be off to explore the asteroid it is named for, 16 Psyche. The sixteenth asteroid ever discovered (in 1852), Psyche is a metallic asteroid that intrigues planetary scientists, wondering what clues it offers to the formations of metallic cores in planets like Earth.
Host Dave Schlom profiles the mission with NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers Paige Arthur and Kaelan Oldani, then discusses the scientific investigations with Arizona State University graduate student and Psyche science team member Sam Courville.
In the final segment, senior JPL engineer Abi Biswas joins Dave to talk about the cutting-edge Deep Space Optical Communications system that Psyche will be demonstrating to pave the way for high bandwidth communications on future space missions.
