How Nasa's Psyche probe is about to steal speed from Mars to reach a metal world

Something remarkable is about to happen today. Around 12:30 pm IST on May 15, 2026, Nasa's Psyche probe will swing past Mars, not to visit the Red Planet, but to steal something from it. Speed.

How Nasa's Psyche probe is about to steal speed from Mars to reach a metal world. Something remarkable is about to happen today. Around 12:30 pm IST on May 15, 2026, Nasa's Psyche probe will swing past Mars, not to visit the Red Planet, but to steal something from it. Speed. This elegant celestial manoeuvre, known as a gravity assist, is one of the most beautiful tricks in space exploration. Think of it less as a slingshot and more as a cosmic handshake, where Mars quietly donates a sliver of its momentum to the spacecraft as it passes by. As Psyche approaches Mars, the planet's gravitational pull will accelerate the probe, much like a ball rolling down a hill gains speed. But here is the clever bit: Mars itself is moving around the Sun at roughly 24 kilometres per second. When the probe enters Mars' gravitational embrace and then departs...