NASA Psyche Spacecraft Captures Mars Crescent Growing During Gravity Assist Flyby

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NASA's Psyche mission captured a composite series of images showing Mars as the spacecraft approached the planet for a gravity assist maneuver. The images were taken between May 2 and May 15, 2026, documenting the planet's crescent shape growing progressively larger. The sequence begins with the smallest crescent when Mars was farthest from the spacecraft and expands as Psyche drew closer. A gravity assist uses a planet's gravitational pull to alter a spacecraft's speed and trajectory without expending fuel.

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