NASA releases new images of Mars during mission to asteroid

THE Psyche probe, launched by NASA with the mission of studying the asteroid of the same name, successfully made an approach to Mars to take advantage of the planet’s gravity and gain speed on the journey through space.

During the maneuver, which was already part of the mission planning, the spacecraft passed approximately 4,609 kilometers from the Martian surface. The approach also allowed the American space agency to record new images of the so-called “Red Planet”.

Among the records released by NASA, one of those that caught the most attention shows a large white spot on the left side of the image, corresponding to the south pole of Mars.

The region is considered one of the most important areas for researchers and scientists studying the planet. The interest is mainly related to what may exist beneath the ice layer present on the surface.

Experts believe there may be liquid water beneath the ice in the south polar region of Mars. If this hypothesis is confirmed, the possibilities of finding signs of past life or even conditions that could help future manned missions to the planet would increase.

In addition to the scientific importance of the images, the passage through Mars also served to test the Psyche probe’s equipment before its arrival at the asteroid.

Jim Bell, one of those responsible for the mission, stated in a statement released by NASA that the material obtained represents an important opportunity to calibrate the cameras and validate the spacecraft’s instruments.

“This dataset offers unique and important opportunities to calibrate the cameras and test the equipment that will be used to record the asteroid Psyche,” he explained.

According to Bell, testing will continue in the coming weeks.

“As the probe continues its journey after this pass by Mars, we will continue to calibrate the Martian images during the remainder of the month as the asteroid moves away,” he stated.

The probe’s arrival near the asteroid Psyche is scheduled for August 2029.

© NASA

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