NASA's Asteroid Mission, Psyche, Has Been Delayed to Next Year — Is There a Possibility of Cancellation?

NASA's first mission to explore a metal-rich asteroid, Psyche, which was scheduled to launch in 2022, will be delayed, according to the agency's announcement made on Friday.

What Is Psyche Asteroid Mission

NASA said that Psyche was chosen by the space agency in 2017 as a part of the Discovery Program, a series of competitive, low-cost missions headed by a single principle investigator.

Psyche's total life-cycle mission cost is $985 million. So far, $717 million of that has been spent. Calculations are now being made to determine the projected expenses associated with supporting each of the mission options.

Space Mission Could Be Delayed Further

NASA announced that it does not have enough time to finish the necessary testing ahead of the spacecraft's launch window for this year, which ends on Oct. 11. This is because the flight software and testing equipment were sent to the spacecraft late. The mission team requires more time to guarantee that the software will operate as intended while in flight.

"NASA takes the cost and schedule commitments of its projects and programs very seriously," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

This Is Not the First Time the Psyche Asteroid Mission Has Been Delayed

A compatibility problem was found with the software's testbed simulations as the mission team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California started to test the system. In May, NASA changed the mission's scheduled launch date from Aug. 1 to no earlier than Sept. 20 to account for the necessary work. Although the problem with the testbeds has been found and fixed, there is not enough time to finish a thorough examination of the software in time for a launch this year.

JPL Director Laurie Leshin said that it takes extreme precision to fly to a far-off metal-rich asteroid using Mars as a gravity assist, hence it must be done correctly. Leshin noted that Psyche has received incredible work from hundreds of people throughout this pandemic, and the effort will continue as the intricate flight software is thoroughly tested and evaluated.

"The decision to delay the launch wasn't easy, but it is the right one."

Plans for the Psyche Asteroid Mission

According to NASA, to evaluate the project's and the Discovery Program's future course of action, the agency is assembling an independent assessment team. The independent assessment team, which is often composed of experts from government, academia, and industry, will examine potential courses of action, including approximate costs. Impacts on the agency's planetary scientific portfolio and Discovery Program will also be taken into account.

The spacecraft would have reached the asteroid Psyche in 2026 if it had been launched during the mission's 2022 launch window, which was from Aug. 1 to Octo. 11.

Although there are potential launch windows in 2023 and 2024, the spacecraft would not reach the asteroid until 2029 or 2030, respectively, due to the relative orbital locations of Psyche and Earth. These potential launch periods' specific dates have not yet been determined.

However, Lori Glaze, director of NASA's planetary science division at the agency's headquarters in Washington, hinted that the project might be canceled when asked by Space.com.