Psyche and Design: A Visual Journey to a Metal World

Psyche is both the name of an asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter — and the name of a NASA space mission to visit that asteroid, led by Arizona State University. The mission was chosen by NASA on January 4, 2017 as one of two missions for the agency’s Discovery Program, a series of relatively low-cost missions to solar system targets. The Psyche spacecraft is targeted to launch in summer 2022 and travel to the asteroid using solar-electric (low-thrust) propulsion, arriving in 2026, following a Mars flyby and gravity-assist in 2023. After arrival, the mission plan calls for 21 months spent at the asteroid, mapping it and studying its properties. Once the spacecraft arrives at the asteroid in 2026, plans call for it to spend 21 months at the asteroid, performing science operations from four staging orbits, which become successively closer.

As a graphic design student, I have been tasked in developing an app for Psyche in efforts to inform the public, raise awareness, and keep eyes on the mission. I teamed up with ASU computer science majors to create a fully functioning app based on Psyche to provide a fun and interactive way to learn about the mission. To expand the range of ASU student competitions, we created five additional Psyche programs for various STEM majors to take part in. Each new competition will have their own branding, advertising, and social postings. A website has also been made to make it easy for students to get involved, keep track of dates, and sign up for the various competitions. To spread awareness of the new ASU Psyche competitions, a poster series was created with different designs for each major in efforts to advertise the various events. Other designs, such as T-shirts, stickers, and social media postings were implemented to keep awareness up and attract new competitors.