NASA's Psyche spacecraft successfully completed a close encounter with Mars earlier this month, capturing breathtaking images of the planet while using its gravity to accelerate toward a distant metallic asteroid.

The probe swept past Mars at a distance of about 2,900 miles from the planet's surface on May 15, executing a precisely planned gravity assist maneuver. This cosmic slingshot increased Psyche's velocity by roughly 1,000 mph and adjusted its flight path toward its ultimate destination: the mysterious asteroid 16 Psyche.

Mission controllers took advantage of the spacecraft's encounter with the Red Planet to photograph it from unusual angles. The images reveal Mars' polar ice caps, wind-carved surface features and crater formations in remarkable detail.

"The flyby provided an excellent opportunity to test and calibrate our scientific instruments before we reach the asteroid," NASA mission scientists explained afterward.

Launched in October 2023, Psyche is traveling 2.2 billion miles to reach its namesake asteroid in the outer asteroid belt. Scientists believe asteroid 16 Psyche may be the exposed metallic core of an ancient planetary building block, potentially offering insights into how rocky planets like Earth formed their iron cores.

The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the asteroid in summer 2029. It will spend several years mapping the space rock's composition and structure. If confirmed to be a planetary core fragment, 16 Psyche could provide an unprecedented window into the deep interiors of terrestrial worlds.