NASA's Psyche spacecraft faces propulsion issues on journey to metal asteroid

In the United States, NASA's Psyche spacecraft is on a mission to reach an unexplored metal asteroid located nearly 150 million miles from Earth. Recently, a problem was detected in the spacecraft's propulsion system, leading to the cessation of engine firing. The issue arose on April 1, 2025, when the spacecraft identified a drop in fuel pressure affecting the xenon fuel line that feeds its plasma thrusters. Teams at NASA have been investigating the cause of this decrease in pressure. As designed, the spacecraft automatically powered off the thrusters to prevent further complications while engineers work on understanding the fault in the system. The Psyche spacecraft, which uses solar electric propulsion, relies on solar-generated electricity and over a ton of xenon gas stored in its seven tanks to maneuver through space. Each of its four Hall effect thrusters generates a thrust equivalent to the weight of three quarters, allowing it to adjust its trajectory towards the metal-rich asteroid named Psyche. Currently, the spacecraft's trajectory remains unaffected, with the thrusters capable of staying unpowered until at least mid-June 2025 before the spacecraft would drift off its intended path. NASA scientists and engineers have assured the public that they are monitoring the situation closely. The ongoing Psyche mission will utilize gravity from Mars, which the spacecraft will encounter next year, to slingshot itself into the asteroid belt, aiming for an arrival at the asteroid Psyche in August 2029. This ambitious project not only has an estimated total cost exceeding $1.4 billion but is also expected to provide significant insights into the composition and history of asteroids rich in metal. The Psyche mission stands out among hundreds of thousands of known asteroids due to the limited number that display a metal-rich composition. As scientists prepare for the Psyche spacecraft's arrival in 2029, there remains significant uncertainty surrounding the appearance and characteristics of the asteroid. Speculations have led to a variety of artistic interpretations, showcasing craters, cliffs, and textures that diverge from what is typically observed on rocky bodies. Such uncertainty adds to the excitement surrounding the mission as both observers and scientists eagerly await new discoveries in the field of planetary science and our understanding of the early solar system.