NASA's Psyche probe to slingshot past Mars at 12,000 mph on May 15

On May 15, NASA's Psyche spacecraft will use Mars not as a destination but as a tool — borrowing the planet's gravitational pull to redirect itself toward a metallic asteroid that may hold secrets about the early formation of worlds like our own. This gravity assist, a technique as elegant as it is essential, represents a critical waypoint in a journey that asks a profound question: what lies at the heart of a planet? The answer, scientists hope, is waiting in the asteroid belt, preserved in iron and nickel for billions of years.