GUIDANCE, NAVIGATION CONTROL FOR THE PSYCHE MISSION

The Psyche spacecraft is enroute to the asteroid of the same name. Located in the main belt, the asteroid is of great scientific interest because it is likely rich in metal. The metal may be from the core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of the Sun’s planetary system. At (16) Psyche scientists will explore, for the first time ever, a world made not of rock or ice, but rich in metal. The mis-sion is enabled by electric propulsion; it is the first to use Hall-effect thrusters beyond lunar orbit. By handling the novel challenges of the new use case for the technology, the spacecraft’s Guidance, Navigation Control (GNC) sub-system helps enable the mission. It also helps to enable the advancement of new technology to return more science data faster. The spacecraft hosts the Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) demonstration, which tests a sophisti-cated new laser communication technology to communicate between a probe in deep space and Earth. Several pointing performance requirements and interfaces support the technology.