Talk:Psyche (spacecraft)

What radio communications apart from the laser experiment
What radio communications apart from the laser experiment ? X-band is mentioned. S-band, K-band ? What data rates from Psyche ? - Rod57 (talk) 14:18, 28 November 2021 (UTC)

Will laser comms be used at Psyche or just tested en-route
Can we clarify : Will the laser comms be used at Psyche for the high volume science data, or just tested en-route ? - Rod57 (talk) 18:30, 28 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Seems it will be tested early en-route, and then evaluated for further testing or use. Not clear if it's even possible to send science data through the laser comms, or if it would be possible to schedule more Palomar telescope time for that. - Rod57 (talk) 11:57, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

Confusing: Will the satellite actually orbit Psyche?
I can't tell from this article whether or not this is mission to orbit Psyche or to orbit the Sun and simply pass by Psyche. Can this please be clarified? Mrs. January (talk) 23:20, 17 September 2023 (UTC)


 * Okay, I see that this is now clarified in the body of the text. I've tried to clarify the first sentence. Mrs. January (talk) 19:22, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Propulsion, why a Hall-effect thruster rather than NEXT or NSTAR gridded ion thrusters
Article just says better than chemical rocket, but how is it better/different than the NEXT and NSTAR gridded ion thrusters that NASA missions have used ? - Rod57 (talk) 12:00, 6 October 2023 (UTC)

What was the budget and estimated cost for the Psyche mission ?
What was the budget and estimated cost for the Psyche mission ? (excluding the $117M for the Falcon Heavy launch). - Based on Selection of Discovery Mission 13 and 14 can we say the mission would have a budget of $450 M (excluding launch) ? - Rod57 (talk) 18:56, 8 October 2023 (UTC)

Maximum thrust of solar electric propulsion engines?
What is the maximum thrust of the solar electric propulsion engines? Does it vary over the mission based on distance from sun etc?

I recall them saying during the launch coverage that it was close to the weight of three quarters on Earth, And ChatGPT says it is 0.2 Newtons, which is pretty close, but provides no source and is of course unreliable.

How does this fit into the mission design? E.g. it would seem to imply slower transfer orbits (up to 98 days from B2 to D) when at the asteroid than could be obtained with chemical thrusters, but of course it makes the mission mass far less etc. ★NealMcB★ (talk) 01:54, 14 October 2023 (UTC)

Lead conflict
The lead essentially says that multiple studies have ruled out 16 Psyche being an iron core of a protoplanet and/or being the remnant of a collision. This major edit was made last year by a now-blocked (for copy-vio) user.

If this is indeed true, then it conflicts with the stated and sourced goals of the mission, which aims to answer those very questions.

Is this just poor wording in the lead, or something worse? Celjski Grad (talk) 09:03, 18 October 2023 (UTC)


 * I would say that it's poor wording. Source 12 says Based on these findings, we cannot rule out a model of Psyche as a remnant core, but our preferred interpretation is that Psyche is a differentiated world with a regolith composition analogous to enstatite or CH/CB chondrites and peppered with localized regions of high metal concentrations. Source 11 mentions Psyche only once: Observations of (16) Psyche, the target of a forthcoming NASA discovery mission, imply a primordial shape close to that of a Jacobi ellipsoid and a density compatible with that of stony-iron meteorites (Viikinkoski et al. 2018; Ferrais et al. 2020). Source 10 says Some years ago, the consensus was that asteroid (16) Psyche was almost entirely metal. New data on density, radar properties, and spectral signatures indicate that the asteroid is something perhaps even more enigmatic: a mixed metal and silicate world. and Contradictions in data of Psyche physical properties may not be resolved until the NASA Psyche mission arrives at the asteroid


 * I think it's safe to say it's poor wording, feel free to check the sources and remove it, or I can do it a bit later. Artem.G (talk) 16:25, 18 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the input! You‘re clearly more knowledgeable than I here so I‘ll defer to your changes. Celjski Grad (talk) 19:01, 18 October 2023 (UTC)
 * done, feel free to copyedit further! Artem.G (talk) 07:16, 19 October 2023 (UTC)