July 29, 2026
The universe is brighter with you in it. Happy birthday.
Birthday · July 29, 2026
A little universe, just for you
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published July 29, 2026 · Video still. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Read the original APOD for the astronomer’s explanation and full image credits. Its text is preserved in the archive as published.
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Solar System bodies make deep space exploration more fuel efficient! Today’s video shows the Psyche spacecraft gaining speed and changing its trajectory with minimal fuel spent due to a gravity assist from Mars in May 2026. Mars has an average orbital speed of almost 87,000 km/h (54,000 mph) around the Sun. Its orbital motion and its gravity allowed Mars to pull Psyche along with it, increasing the spacecraft’s speed. Gravity assists have been used since 1959’s Luna 3 mission to allow for spacecraft (the Voyagers, Cassini) to reach farther than they could with fuel alone. This assist helped the Psyche spacecraft on its journey to the Psyche asteroid, which it will reach in 2029. While passing Mars, the spacecraft tested instruments that will analyze the asteroid’s composition and magnetic field. This is the first mission to an asteroid thought to be largely made of metal, an essential building block for planets, rather than rock or ice. Find dark skies and look up this August to witness the Perseid meteor shower uninhibited by the Moon!
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Explore July 29 in other years · 32 APOD entries, 1995–2026
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