See that tiny dot? That’s us, from 290 million km away. Spacecraft spies Earth and Moon on its journey to asteroid

This picture captured by NASA’s Psyche spacecraft exhibits Earth and our Moon from a distance of 290 million km (180 million miles) away.

The photos have been captured on 20 and 23 July 2025 throughout one of many Psyche spacecraft’s checks of its science devices.

More superb Chandra observations

Multiple lengthy exposures of as much as 10 seconds have been captured to create the ultimate picture, displaying our residence planet and pure satellite tv for pc as tiny specks in opposition to the blackness of house.

If you have ever noticed a planet equivalent to Venus or Mars and famous which constellation it is in at that second in time, contemplate this.

In this picture, Earth and the Moon are positioned throughout the constellation Aries, because the background starfield exhibits.

If an extra-terrestrial astronomer have been us, they may discuss ‘that little blue planet at the moment in Aries’.

About Psyche

The Psyche spacecraft launched on 13 October 2023 on its technique to a metal-rich asteroid, additionally known as Psyche.

Asteroids are remnants left over from the formation of the Solar System, and so finding out one up shut can inform scientists lots about how Earth and the opposite planets that orbit the Sun shaped.

A gravity help fly-by of Mars in 2026 is deliberate to provide the spacecraft sufficient vitality to achieve its goal asteroid in the summertime of 2029.

About Psyche’s Earth picture

The picture of Earth and the Moon was captured by Psyche as a part of a routine take a look at of its science devices.

Psyche’s multispectral imager instrument is a pair of cameras geared up with filters and telescope lenses, designed to {photograph} asteroid Psyche’s floor in numerous wavelengths of sunshine.

That’s as a result of the color and form of the asteroid’s spectrum can reveal particulars about what it’s made from.

Psyche scientists hope the mission will assist them perceive extra in regards to the formation of rocky planets with metallic cores, together with Earth.

They select targets for imager testing and calibration that shine with mirrored daylight, simply as asteroid Psyche does.

The workforce additionally choose objects which have a spectrum they’re aware of, to allow them to evaluate earlier information with information from newer targets.

Earlier in 2025, Psyche studied Jupiter and Mars for the needs of instrument calibration, and mission scientists say this was successful.

They can evaluate information throughout a number of completely different exams to see whether or not Psyche’s digital camera efficiency is altering.

“After this, we could have a look at Saturn or Vesta to assist us proceed to check the imagers,” says Jim Bell, Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University in Tempe.

“We’re sort of collecting Solar System ‘trading cards’ from these different bodies and running them through our calibration pipeline to make sure we’re getting the right answers.”

“We are up and running, and everything is working well,” says Bob Mase, mission undertaking supervisor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“We’re on target to fly by Mars in May 2026, and we are accomplishing all of our planned activities for cruise.”

The Mars flyby will use the planet’s gravitational pull to fireside the spacecraft in direction of asteroid Psyche.

It will mark the primary of two deliberate loops across the Solar System for Psyche, and the mission milestone of getting clocked up 1.6 billion km (1 million miles) since its launch.