NASA's Psyche asteroid mission suffers major hiccup; launch no longer possible in 2022

NASA’s mission to the Psyche asteroid is no longer happening this year, the agency announced on Friday. In an official release, NASA said that the delay of this one-of-a-kind mission occurred due to the late delivery of the probe's flight software and testing equipment. Since the delivery was delayed, the engineers do not have sufficient time to complete the software and equipment testing. The Psyche mission, which was targeted for launch between September 20 and October 11, involved launching a probe to study a 225-kilometres-wide metal-rich asteroid.

"We are exploring options for the mission in the context of the Discovery Program, and a decision on the path forward will be made in the coming months", Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said in a statement. 

The cause of the delay is the guidance, navigation and control (GNC) software, which currently needs testing and validation to confirm that it will function properly in flight. It is this software that will control the orientation of the spacecraft as it flies through space and will be used to point the spacecraft’s antenna toward Earth to establish communication. Besides, it would also provide trajectory information to the probe's solar electric propulsion system, planned to be activated 70 days after launch.

When would the mission launch?

The mission's launch period this year lasted from August 1 through October 11 and owing to Psyche's relative orbital position to Earth, the spacecraft would have arrived at its destination in 2026. While launch windows are available in both 2023 and 2024, it would take relatively longer for the probe to reach Psyche, possibly in 2029 or even 2030. NASA said that the mission team is working on determining an exact date for the launch based on the asteroid-Earth orientation to reduce the distance in between. 

Notably, NASA has spent around $717 million on the mission to date out of the total allocated budget of $985 million. Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division, told Space.com that the mission might even get cancelled, part of the reason might be these delays. 

"Our amazing team has overcome almost all of the incredible challenges of building a spacecraft during COVID", said Psyche Principal Investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University. "We just need a little more time and will get this one (problem) licked too. The team is ready to move forward, and I’m so grateful for their excellence".