It has recently become known that the NASA Psyche probe has had its main engines shut down in an emergency. This happened on April 1, but the agency did not publicize the problem until the last few days. NASA believes that the situation is far from critical, but after mid-June things may take an unfavorable turn.
Image source: NASA
The Psyche probe was unlucky even before launch. The launch was delayed for a year due to poor coordination between the teams responsible for its assembly at the agency. Before the pre-launch check of the probe, a software error was discovered on the stand, which required corrections. The device launched to its target – the metallic embryo of the planet – in October 2023.
The launch was successful, and the probe completed its equipment checks in space, including the longest laser communication session with Earth. The device transmitted a video of a cat from a point far beyond the orbit of Mars, which may help in the future with organizing communications with Martian colonies.
On April 1 of this year, the agency admitted, the probe team’s calm work came to an end. The pressure in the device’s fuel system, which runs on xenon, dropped, which led to the automatic shutdown of the device’s plasma-electric cruise engines. NASA does not consider this a serious problem yet. The probe team is studying the situation and looking for ways out of the crisis. The shutdown of the engines will begin to affect the probe’s trajectory after mid-June of this year. That’s when it will be necessary to start worrying about the fate of the mission.
The Hall effect propulsion system for the Psyche probe and its platform were manufactured by the American company Maxar Space Systems. The same manufacturer is producing the propulsion system for the lunar Gateway station of the Artemis program. According to the developer, the design of the Psyche engines has redundancy, and fuel can be supplied through reserved channels.