/sci/ - Science & Math

https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/06/nasa-says-its-metal-mission-psyche-is-back-on-track-for-an-october-liftoff/

> If the mission does launch this fall, the spacecraft will reach asteroid Psyche in August 2029. There, it will go into orbit for 26 months to gain insights into planetary formation, understand the interior of terrestrial planets like Earth, and examine a world that is made largely of metal. The mission is also of interest to the nascent asteroid mining community, which seeks to learn about the potential value harbored by these relatively rare, metallic asteroids.

> Last year, Young and the rest of the board members found a litany of problems with the mission, including serious issues with the flight software and an incomplete process to verify that software and the vehicle's systems.

>In a report published last November, the review board laid much of the blame on management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which oversaw Psyche's development and testing. The field center, which leads many of the space agency's most prestigious science missions, had undertaken an "unprecedented workload" without possessing the resources needed to complete major projects.

> Laurie Leshin became the director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory just weeks before the Psyche mission was put on hold last year. On Monday, she said she welcomed the independent review of Psyche's problems and the larger issues at the California-based field center so that they could be addressed by her leadership team.

> Since then, Leshin said, NASA has been aggressive about hiring from the tech industry—which has undergone significant layoffs—and recruiting back employees who were lost to private space companies in the Los Angeles area. In some ways, she said, NASA is the victim of its own success as it has sought to foster the US commercial space industry.