NASA Psyche spacecraft Mars flyby footage released. Watch an asteroid mission film our neighbouring planet at 12,000 mph. - for 2026

[CMPunk02]

NASA released footage from the Psyche spacecraft's Mars flyby on May 15, where the probe skimmed 2,800 miles above the surface at 12,000 miles per hour to pick up the velocity needed to reach the metal asteroid 16 Psyche in the main belt. The footage and images captured during the flyby are extraordinary and now on NASA's YouTube channel.

Psyche is heading to an asteroid that may be the exposed metalite core of a destroyed protoplanet. What it finds when it gets there could reshape our understanding of how planetary cores form, including Earth's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Index of /releases/2026/05

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/

[Northernah]

The idea of a spacecraft moving at 12,000 mph and still having precision good enough to take usable imagery of another planet is the kind of engineering achievement that deserves more attention

[Phil]

The footage of Mars at that speed and altitude is a perspective humans have never had before. We have orbiters and we have landers. Flyby at that velocity is different

[RomanReigns]

A gravity assist using Mars to reach a metal asteroid is mission design elegance. Using one planet to reach a different destination is beautiful physics

[Quarry18]

The exposed planetary core hypothesis for 16 Psyche is the thing that makes this mission genuinely exciting rather than just technically impressive

[ProperJobs]

If Psyche is the core of a destroyed protoplanet then it is effectively a cross-section of something like Earth's interior made accessible. The scientific value is extraordinary

[Amber Tiger]

NASA YouTube is one of the genuinely excellent public resources on the internet. The raw footage from missions like this is available to everyone

[SortedMate]

The years between launch and arrival are the hardest part for public engagement. Flyby footage is the thing that reminds people the mission is real and ongoing

[Taker04]

Commercial asteroid mining interest in metal-rich bodies means this mission data will have private sector implications as well as scientific ones

[KnotKnull]

12,000 miles per hour over Mars and still snapping useful images. The instrument precision required is not something most people can visualise properly