The Psyche Mission spacecraft launched earlier today, 14 Oct 2023.
It is travelling to 16 Psyche, a large M-type asteroid discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 17 March 1852 and named
after the Greek goddess Psyche.
It will travel to the asteroid using solar-electric (low-thrust) propulsion, following a Mars flyby and a gravity assist.
Once in orbit, the spacecraft will map and study Psyche using a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer,
a magnetometer, and a radio instrument (for gravity measurement). The mission’s goal is, among other things,
to determine whether Psyche is indeed the core of a planetesimal.
Background here :-
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-syste...ids/16-psyche/
Replay of launch today on YouTube. Got to 50:45 for final countdown and launch :-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npIDMxrzm_o
It's particularly impressive at the 56 minute point with the glowing engine bell and at 59 minutes for the side booster landings.