NASA specialists reported on the emergence of problems with Psyche. They are associated with its propulsion system.
The Psyche mission was launched in 2023. Its target is Psyche, a metallic asteroid that is thought to be a fragment of the core of a dead protoplanet. On its way to it, the vehicle is also expected to visit Mars, with a flyby scheduled for May 2026. Arrival at Psyche, on the other hand, is due in the summer of 2029.
Psyche is equipped with four Hall-effect electric thrusters. The principle of their operation is as follows. The energy collected by Psyche’s solar panels is used to ionize the atoms of the working body (xenon), which is then ejected, creating thrust.
The spacecraft first activated its thrusters in May 2024. Everything was fine then. However, on April 1, 2025, the mission encountered an unexpected problem. Psyche’s sensors recorded pressure drops in the line that carries xenon gas to the thrusters, from 2.48 bar to 1.79 bar. Obeying the program, the vehicle then automatically shut down its propulsion system.
Since then, mission specialists have been trying to understand the causes of the pressure drop and analyzing telemetry data. The flight plan calls for a pause in turning on the thrusters until at least mid-June before it begins to seriously affect the trajectory. One possible measure is to switch to a backup fuel line. The Psyche has two identical fuel lines and engineers can try switching to the spare to resume thrust and see how the vehicle behaves.
Earlier we reported on how Psyche sent a laser signal to Earth from a record distance.
According to NASA
