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Psyche in Progress

July 7, 2020
A technician prepares to integrate part of the electric propulsion system onto the main body of NASA's Psyche spacecraft at Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California.

The main body of NASA's Psyche spacecraft, called the Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Chassis, is in a clean room at Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, where a technician prepares to integrate part of the electric propulsion system onto the chassis. Maxar will deliver the SEP Chassis to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in February 2021.

Set to launch in August 2022, Psyche's will explore a metal-rich asteroid of the same name that lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft will arrive in early 2026, and orbit the asteroid for nearly two years to investigate its composition.

Arizona State University leads the mission. JPL is responsible for the mission's overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. For more information about NASA's Psyche mission go to: http://www.nasa.gov/psyche or https://psyche.asu.edu/

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