NASA Puts Pysche Mission on Hold 3v2p1x Blames Late Delivery of Navigation Software

NASA has already spent $717 million (nearly Rs. 5,600 crore) on Psyche. 2x5j4e

By Associated Press | Updated: 25 June 2022 05:26 IST

NASA Puts Pysche Mission on Hold, Blames Late Delivery of Navigation Software

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU 6x123b

Psyche is the latest in NASA's fleet of asteroid-exploring spacecrafts

Highlights

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab was several months late delivering its software
It was supposed to launch this September or October
There are still at least two launch opportunities next year

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NASA put an asteroid mission on hold on Friday, blaming the late delivery of its own navigation software. The Psyche mission to a strange metal asteroid of the same name was supposed to launch this September or October. But the agency's Jet Propulsion Lab was several months late delivering its software for navigation, guidance and control — a crucial part of any spacecraft. Engineers “just ran out of time” to test it, officials said Friday.

Now, the space agency is going to step back, and an independent review will look at what went wrong, when the spacecraft could launch again and even if it should go ahead, NASA planetary sciences chief Lori Glaze said.

asteroid in 2026 after a journey of more than 1 billion miles.

Scientsists Reveal Detailed Maps of Asteroid Psyche Ahead of August Mission

Now that the software has been delivered, there's no known problems with the spacecraft except “we just haven't been able to test it,” said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the Psyche mission lead scientist.

“There is that one challenge we couldn't overcome in time to launch in 2022 with confidence,” she said.

There are still at least two launch opportunities next year and more in 2024 to get to the asteroid that sits in the belt between JPL Director Laurie Leshin. That means Psyche wouldn't arrive at its asteroid until 2029 or 2030.

Here's What the Bennu Asteroid Uses as 'Body Armour' Against Meteoroids

But calculating launch times is complicated because the mission needs the proper sunlight conditions and the asteroid “is spinning like a rotisserie chicken instead of like a top,” Elkins-Tanton said.

Two other small missions were going to ride along on the Falcon heavy rocket and NASA is looking at what will happen to those.

NASA Says 2022’s Largest Asteroid Is Nearing Earth

Psyche is just the latest in NASA's fleet of asteroid-exploring spacecrafts. Osiris-Rex is on the way back to Earth with rubble from the asteroid [Bennu](https://gadgets-ndtv.2siteunlock.com/tags/earth">Earth.

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