NASA's Psyche mission review board to meet next week to assess progress

In an upcoming media teleconference scheduled for Monday, June 5, leaders from NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the independent review board for the Psyche mission will discuss the progress made in addressing the issues that led to the mission's launch delay.

The Psyche mission, which aims to explore the metal-rich asteroid of the same name in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, was initially slated for launch in 2022 but encountered development problems.

Convened by NASA and JPL in July 2022, the independent review board was tasked with investigating the reasons behind the mission's failure to meet its planned launch opportunity and evaluating whether it could overcome the issues and achieve a successful launch in 2023. The board will now present an overview of the corrective actions taken since the release of the November 2022 report.

The Psyche mission holds significant scientific importance as it seeks to study a previously unexplored asteroid. With the new launch date set for October 2023, the Psyche spacecraft is expected to reach the target asteroid in August 2029.

What is Psyche? 🤔The #MissionToPsyche will explore a new type of world. For the first time, we will examine a world made not of rock and ice, but one that is metal-rich! Launching October 2023 🚀 pic.twitter.com/9n0UCpgul6

— NASA's Launch Services Program (@NASA_LSP) February 25, 2023