"NASA's Psyche Mission: First Light and Instrument Testing"

NASA's Psyche spacecraft, on its way to the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche, has captured its "first light" images 26 million kilometers away from Earth. The images, taken by the spacecraft's Multispectral Imager instrument, show stars in the constellation Pisces. The team captured 68 images to test and calibrate the instrument and its filters, which will allow scientists to observe the asteroid in different wavelengths of light and analyze its composition. In addition to the imaging milestone, the spacecraft also successfully tested the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, which aims to demonstrate optical communications using laser beams in deep space. If successful, this technology could significantly increase transmission rates for future space missions. Psyche also carries other instruments, including a magnetometer, gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and X-band radio communications system, which will be used to study the asteroid's magnetic field, elemental composition, and gravity field, respectively.