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Earth from Space: Northwest Sardinia, Italy
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By European Space Agency
Southern Europe is once again in the grip of extreme summer heat. Soaring temperatures and bone-dry land have fuelled widespread wildfires, with the Iberian Peninsula among the regions hardest hit. Flames continue to sweep across parched landscapes, as these images show.
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASAâs Psyche captured images of Earth and our Moon from about 180 million miles (290 kilometers) away in July 2025, as it calibrated its imager instrument. When choosing targets for the imager testing, scientists look for bodies that shine with reflected sunlight, just as the asteroid Psyche does.NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU Headed for a metal-rich asteroid of the same name, the Psyche spacecraft successfully calibrated its cameras by looking homeward.
On schedule for its 2029 arrival at the asteroid Psyche, NASAâs Psyche spacecraft recently looked back toward home and captured images of Earth and our Moon from about 180 million miles (290 million kilometers) away. The images were obtained during one of the mission teamâs periodic checkouts of the spacecraftâs science instruments.
On July 20 and July 23, the spacecraftâs twin cameras captured multiple long-exposure (up to 10-second) pictures of the two bodies, which appear as dots sparkling with reflected sunlight amid a starfield in the constellation Aries.
Learn more about the multispectral imager aboard Psyche that will use a pair of identical cameras with filters and telescopic lenses to photograph the surface of the asteroid in different wavelengths of light. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU The Psyche multispectral imager instrument comprises a pair of identical cameras equipped with filters and telescopic lenses to photograph the asteroid Psycheâs surface in different wavelengths of light. The color and shape of a planetary bodyâs spectrum can reveal details about what itâs made of. The Moon and the giant asteroid Vesta, for example, have similar kinds of âbumps and wigglesâ in their spectra that scientists could potentially also detect at Psyche. Members of the missionâs science team are interested in Psyche because it will help them better understand the formation of rocky planets with metallic cores, including Earth.
When choosing targets for the imager testing and calibration, scientists look for bodies that shine with reflected sunlight, just as the asteroid Psyche does. They also look at objects that have a spectrum theyâre familiar with, so they can compare previous telescopic or spacecraft data from those objects with what Psycheâs instruments observe. Earlier this year, Psyche turned its lenses toward Jupiter and Mars for calibration â each has a spectrum more reddish than the bluer tones of Earth. That checkout also proved a success.
The Psyche spacecraft is taking a spiral path around the solar system in order to get a boost from a Mars gravity assist in 2026. It will arrive at the asteroid Psyche in 2029. NASA/JPL-Caltech To determine whether the imagerâs performance is changing, scientists also compare data from the different tests. That way, when the spacecraft slips into orbit around Psyche, scientists can be sure that the instrument behaves as expected.
âAfter this, we may look at Saturn or Vesta to help us continue to test the imagers,â said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University in Tempe. âWeâre sort of collecting solar system âtrading cardsâ from these different bodies and running them through our calibration pipeline to make sure weâre getting the right answers.â
Strong and Sturdy
The imager wasnât the only instrument that got a successful checkout in late July: The mission team also put the spacecraftâs magnetometer and the gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer through a gamut of tests â something they do every six months.
âWe are up and running, and everything is working well,â said Bob Mase, the missionâs project manager at NASAâs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. âWeâre on target to fly by Mars in May 2026, and we are accomplishing all of our planned activities for cruise.â
That flyby is the spacecraftâs next big milestone, when it will use the Red Planetâs gravity as a slingshot to help the spacecraft get to the asteroid Psyche. That will mark Psycheâs first of two planned loops around the solar system and 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) since launching from NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in October 2023.
More About Psyche
The Psyche mission is led by ASU. Lindy Elkins-Tanton of the University of California, Berkeley is the principal investigator.A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL is responsible for the missionâs overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. ASU leads the operations of the imager instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego on the design, fabrication, and testing of the cameras.
Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASAâs Discovery Program, managed by the agencyâs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASAâs Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, managed the launch service.
For more information about NASAâs Psyche mission go to:
http://www.science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche
Check out the Psyche spacecraftâs trajectory in 3D News Media Contacts
Gretchen McCartney
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-287-4115
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.govÂ
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 19, 2025 Related Terms
Psyche Mission Asteroids Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Solar System Explore More
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