Psyche 2026
Riley Perry
January 26th, 2026
Major: Communication Design and Environmental Biology
Genre/Medium: Graphic Design
About the work:
Psyche 2026 is a Psyche mission wall calendar designed to transform an often overlooked everyday object into a source of inspiration. While the Psyche mission spans many years, there are countless meaningful moments, not only from Psyche, but also from space science more broadly, that deserve to be remembered and revisited. My hope is that these highlights spark curiosity and motivate a sense of wonder throughout the year.
The piece is intended for Psyche Mission staff, NASA fans, and all space enthusiasts! Aimed to be more visually engaging than logistically functional, Psyche 2026 showcases key mission milestones alongside significant dates in NASA’s exploration history. The numbers ‘2026’ at the top of the calendar were built using shapes from the Psyche mission logo. Each digit is composed of these elements, creating a piece that ties the year directly to the mission’s visual identity. Designed to hang at a desk workspace, the calendar serves not just as a practical tool, but as a daily reminder of why we explore, why we care about this work, and how past achievements continue to inspire us.
2026 is an especially exciting year for Psyche. In May, the spacecraft will perform a gravity-assist flyby of Mars, using the planet’s motion and gravity to increase speed and adjust its trajectory without significant propellant use. Psyche will coast with its thrusters off for precise navigation, pass about 1,900–2,700 miles above Mars, and then continue on a 29-month journey toward the asteroid. This is an event I was eager to highlight in my calendar.
All highlighted dates and mission milestones were determined with help from the Psyche blog post archive (https://psyche.ssl.berkeley.edu/category/blog/), NASA’s blogs on the Psyche mission (https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/psyche/), and NASA’s official timeline (https://www.nasa.gov/specials/timeline/). I was intentional to incorporate dates that may be personally meaningful to Psyche or the mission team, such as when key components of the spacecraft were assembled, the first day of testing, and days the mission team has mentioned they will remember forever!
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