No, this isn’t a solar eclipse. It’s an image of Mars, captured by NASA’s asteroid-bound Psyche probe
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Is it an eclipse? A crescent moon at an odd angle, perhaps? No. This stunning silver arc is actually Mars.
The stunning new image of the Red Planet was captured by NASA’s Psyche space probe as it heads toward a close encounter with Earth’s neighboring planet on Friday (May 15).
NASA shared the image captured on Wednesday evening (May 13) on his NASA Solar System X Stream. The space agency wrote: “This is not an eclipse, but an even rarer sight: a crescent of Mars seen by NASA. #MissionToPsyché spacecraft. The unprocessed image — taken by Psyche today – shows the night side of March as the spacecraft approaches the Red Planet for a flyby on May 15.”
NASA explained that the bright crescent is actually sunlight reflected from the day side of the Martian surface, with a contribution from sunlight passing through Mars’ atmosphere. The space agency continued: “Irregularities in the crescent are likely caused by surface features, as well as dust and clouds in the atmosphere.”
As Space.com previously reported On Friday, May 15, Psyche will approach within about 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) of Mars, traveling at a speed of 12,333 miles per hour (19,848 km/h).
This will allow it to capture stunning images of Mars and, in doing so, calibrate the spacecraft’s observation instruments, work which began on May 3. This will verify that Psyche will be ready to collect vital data when it reaches the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, where its primary target, a 280 km wide metal-rich asteroid called asteroid 16 Psyche(or simply Psyche).
Mars seen by NASA’s Psyche on May 3, 2026. | Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
But it’s not just a tourist visit. The main objective of Psyche’s flyby on Mars will be to retrieve a gravitational assist from the Red Planet.
This will increase the spacecraft’s speed and change its trajectory, allowing the mission launched in October 2023 to reach its namesake asteroid in 2029.
