NASA’s Psyche spacecraft captures a growing Mars crescent during 2026 flyby

The Psyche spacecraft, en route to its primary asteroid target, performed a gravity‑assist flyby of Mars from May 2 to May 15, 2026. During the encounter the onboard multispectral imager captured a sequence of images that show the planet’s illuminated portion growing from a thin crescent to a near‑full disk. The resulting time‑lapse offers a striking visual of Mars as seen from a high phase angle and provides valuable engineering data for the mission. This brief window also gives scientists a fresh look at Martian atmospheric scattering and surface reflectance.

What happened

The composite of images taken by NASA’s Psyche mission shows the crescent of Mars grow as the spacecraft approached the planet for a gravity assist from May 2 to May 15, 2026. The series begins with the smallest crescent at the center of the frame when Mars is farthest from the spacecraft, and it progressively expands as the distance closes.

As Psyche drew nearer, Mars began to overfill the field of view, allowing the multispectral imager to capture a series of high‑resolution images of the Martian surface during the closest approach. Because the spacecraft approached from a high phase angle, the planet appeared as a thin, illuminated crescent in the days leading up to the encounter, lit by sunlight reflecting off its surface.

Using these views of the approach, close approach, and departure, the Psyche team compiled a stunning time‑lapse that documents the entire Mars encounter.

Why it matters

The flyby provided a rare high‑phase‑angle perspective of Mars, useful for calibrating the spacecraft’s imaging instruments and refining models of how sunlight scatters in the Martian atmosphere. The high‑resolution surface shots, though limited to the illuminated limb, add ancillary data that complement existing Mars orbiter datasets. Publicly released imagery also fuels outreach, inspiring interest in both the Psyche asteroid mission and planetary science more broadly.

How to think about it

For enthusiasts, treat the sequence as a natural laboratory for comparing planetary phase curves: note how the illuminated fraction changes with spacecraft‑Mars distance and angle. Researchers can use the high‑resolution frames to cross‑validate surface albedo measurements from orbiters, while engineers can assess the performance of Psyche’s multispectral imager under varying illumination conditions. When sharing the time‑lapse, emphasize that it captures a specific geometry—not a complete global view of Mars.

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