Media Services
Media Contacts
Policy/Program Management
NASA Headquarters, Washington
Karen Fox
301-286-6284
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
Alana Johnson
202-358-1501
alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov
Erin Morton
202-805-9393
erin.morton@nasa.gov
Psyche Mission
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California
Gretchen McCartney
818-393-6215
818-287-4115 (cell)
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov
Jia-Rui Cook
818-354-0724
626-524-6483 (cell)
jia-rui.c.cook@jpl.nasa.gov
Science Investigation Leadership
Arizona State University, Tempe
Cassie Bowman
480-727-2219
c.bowman@asu.edu
Launch
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Leejay Lockhart
321-747-8310 (cell)
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
Laura Aguiar
321-593-6245 (cell)
laura.aguiar@nasa.gov
Launch Vehicle and Operations
SpaceX, Hawthorne, California
James Gleeson
media@spacex.com
Payload Instruments
Multispectral Imager
Arizona State University, Tempe
Cassie Bowman
480-727-2219
c.bowman@asu.edu
Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland
Michael Buckley
443-778-7536
michael.buckley@jhuapl.edu
Magnetometer
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge
Abby Abazorius
617-253-2709
abbya@mit.edu
Paige Colley
617-258-9610
pcolley@mit.edu
DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Morten Garly Andersen
+45 2962-2306
mga@space.dtu.dk
Radio Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge
Abby Abazorius
617-253-2709
abbya@mit.edu
Paige Colley
617-258-9610
pcolley@mit.edu
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California
Gretchen McCartney
818-393-6215
818-287-4115 (cell)
gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov
Spacecraft Bus (Solar Electric Propulsion Chassis)
Maxar Technologies, Westminster, Colorado
Eric Glass
650-512-4971 (cell)
eric.glass@maxar.com
Deep Space Optical Communications Technology Demonstration
NASA Headquarters, Washington
Alise Fisher
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Lora Bleacher
202-358-1100
lora.v.bleacher@nasa.gov
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southern California
Ian O’Neill
818-354-2649
626-497-4092 (cell)
Ian.J.ONeill@jpl.nasa.gov
Products and Events
News Releases, Features, Advisories, and Status Reports
Progress reports on Psyche and DSOC’s road to launch, including the latest updates on launch dates, can be found on the NASA launch blog.
News, updates, and feature stories about the Psyche mission will be available at nasa.gov/psyche and psyche.asu.edu. Stories about DSOC can be found at nasa.gov/technology.
Additional information about launch windows (the potential times each day Psyche can launch) can be found at go.nasa.gov/3seZc18.
Interviews with team members from the Psyche mission and the DSOC experiment may be arranged by calling the JPL newsroom at 818-354-5011 or filling out this form.
Video and Images
A Psyche mission media reel, including shots of DSOC, is available at the NASA Image and Video Library.
A collection of Psyche videos is also available at bit.ly/psycheplaylist.
Additional images related to the Psyche mission and the DSOC experiment are available at the NASA Image and Video Library, Planetary Photojournal, and the gallery section of this press kit.
Read NASA’s image use policy.
Read JPL’s image use policy.
Media Events
NASA’s Psyche mission is the first to a metal-rich asteroid, which is also named Psyche. The agency is targeting a launch no earlier than Oct. 12, 2023. The mission will ride to space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Cruising through space with a super-efficient solar electric propulsion system, the Psyche spacecraft is expected to arrive at the asteroid to begin science operations in 2029. It will orbit this unique world for at least 26 months.
Attached to Psyche is the Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration, a NASA experiment that will test optical, or laser, communications beyond the Moon.
How to Watch
News briefings and launch commentary will be livestreamed on NASA Television, NASA+, NASA.gov/live, and YouTube.com/NASA. (On-demand recordings will also be available after the live events have finished on YouTube.)
NASA TV channels are digital C-band signals carried by QPSK/DVB-S modulation on satellite Galaxy-13, transponder 15C, at 127 degrees west longitude, with a downlink frequency of 3920 MHz, vertical polarization, data rate of 18 MHz, symbol rate of 33.5 Mbps and 3/4 FEC. A digital video broadcast-compliant integrated receiver decoder is needed for reception. For more information about NASA TV’s programming schedule, visit nasa.gov/ntv.
Live Launch Feed
A live video feed of key launch activities and commentary from Kennedy will be broadcast. The first launch opportunity is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. On launch day, a “clean feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
Audio Only
Audio only of launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio” – the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary – will be carried on 321-867-7135.
On-Site Media Logistics
Media accreditation for on-site access will have closed for international media on Aug. 29, and will close for U.S.-based media on Sept. 12. Accredited media will have access to Kennedy for launch and pre-launch activities related to NASA’s Psyche mission. Closer to launch, NASA will release an events-and-briefing advisory with additional information.
Accredited news media can arrange on-site interviews by calling the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Media without credentials can call the Kennedy newsroom to see if off-site interviews can be arranged.
Public Viewing Locations
There are launch viewing sites on Florida’s Space Coast that are open to the public. More information is available at nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/viewing.html.
Additional Resources on the Web
Additional detailed information about the Psyche mission is available at nasa.gov/psyche, beta.science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche, and psyche.asu.edu/.
Additional information about the DSOC technology demonstration is available at jpl.nasa.gov/missions/dsoc.
Social Media
Join the conversation and get updates from these accounts:
X: @NASAJPL, @NASASolarSystem, @NASA_technology, @NASASCaN, @NASA
Facebook: NASAJPL, NASASolarSystem, NASATechnology, NASASCaN, NASA
Instagram: @NASAJPL, @NASA, @nasasolarsystem
Download the Press Kit