On Friday, an expert panel that advises NASA on its Mars science portfolio is scheduled to discuss the independent review of the agency’s flagship Mars Sample Return mission that was released on Sept. Mars Advisory Panel to Discuss Sample Return Review It is scheduled to reach its destination in 2029, three years later than originally planned. At about $1.2 billion, Psyche is pushing the upper cost limit of NASA’s Discovery Program, which typically supports relatively inexpensive missions. The problem was discovered “by weird chance,” according to mission lead Lindy Elkins-Tanton, and with a rapid fix available the spacecraft has now been rolled out to the launch pad. 5, mission personnel found a subcontractor had provided incorrect data related to the spacecraft’s thrusters. However, shortly before this year’s launch window opened on Oct. A follow-up assessment reported in May that JPL’s response to the review had been “outstanding” and that Psyche was on track. Subsequently, an independent review linked the delay to staff shortages across Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the center responsible for the mission, leading NASA to delay a Venus mission that JPL is also set to develop. The mission was originally supposed to launch in summer 2022 but missed its launch window when issues with its navigational software could not be fully resolved in time. Further launch opportunities are available daily through Oct. Psyche, NASA’s mission to study an unusual metal-rich asteroid of the same name, is targeted for launch as early as Thursday from Kennedy Space Center. Technicians attach the Psyche spacecraft to a payload fitting for a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket that will launch the mission to rendezvous with an asteroid.
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