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NASA's Psyche Spacecraft Buzzing Mars on its Way to Rare Metal Asteroid

The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, USA, 12 May 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, USA, 12 May 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
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NASA's Psyche Spacecraft Buzzing Mars on its Way to Rare Metal Asteroid

The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, USA, 12 May 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
The NASA Vehicle Assembly Building is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, USA, 12 May 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

A NASA spacecraft chasing a rare metal asteroid swings past Mars this week for a gravity boost, snapping thousands of pictures as practice for the main encounter in 2029.

Named Psyche like the asteroid it’s after, the robotic explorer will slingshot past the red planet at 12,333 mph (19,848 kph) on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

It will be an especially close flyby, with Psyche passing within 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) of Mars, equivalent to the distance between the US east and west coasts. Then it will barrel toward the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that is home to its enticing target.

All of the spacecraft’s science instruments will be on for the Mars pass. NASA’s two Mars rovers along with a small fleet of US and European orbiters will make surface and atmospheric observations at the same time for comparison.

Psyche's cameras already are photographing Mars, appearing as a crescent on approach and a nearly full sphere once it’s in the rearview mirror. The different views will serve double duty, allowing operators to fine-tune their instruments while providing “just plain beautiful photos,” Arizona State University’s Jim Bell, the imaging team leader, said in a statement.

While the asteroid belt is swarming with millions of objects, most are made of rock or ice.

Only a small percentage are thought to be metal-rich like Psyche, a potato-shaped asteroid roughly 173 miles long and 144 miles wide (278 kilometers by 232 kilometers).

Scientists suspect the asteroid may be the exposed nickel and iron core of a fledgling planet that was stripped down by cosmic collisions. Studying such an object up close can yield information about the dawn of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago, and why and how Earth spawned life.

Launched in 2023, the spacecraft is midway through its six-year roundabout journey to Psyche in the outer fringes of the asteroid belt, three times farther from the sun than Earth. It should arrive in 2029, slipping into orbit around the asteroid for two years of study. The van-sized spacecraft runs on solar electric propulsion, using xenon gas thrusters.

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Baby Haaland in Peru: Newborns Take Names of World Cup Stars

Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)
Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)
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Baby Haaland in Peru: Newborns Take Names of World Cup Stars

Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)
Erling Haaland wears a viking helmet after beating the Ivory Coast at the World Cup. (Getty Images)

In Peru, there is ‌a wave of new baby Haalands. In Argentina, Lionel has raced up the rankings, and in Mexico a girl was reportedly named after three football players. Parents in Latin America are already christening a new generation of babies after the stars of the World Cup.

Hundreds of newborns in Peru have been named for rising stars such as Norway's Erling Haaland, while names inspired by legacy icons like Lionel Messi, Brazil's Neymar and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo each count around 30,000 registrations, Ivan Torres, a spokesperson for Peru's civil registry RENIEC told Panamericana TV last week.

"Haaland is now Peruvian too," Torres said, noting one newborn was simply ‌named "Mundial" after the ‌Spanish shorthand for the World Cup. Peru did not ‌qualify ⁠for the tournament.

Many ⁠Latin Americans with teams not competing or knocked out have been unwilling to support Argentina — broadly seen as too Eurocentric — and thrown their support behind the Norwegian team, whose "Viking row" and Haaland-driven run to the quarter-finals for the first time won them legions of new fans.

In Mexico, which co-hosted the World Cup with the US and Canada, a picture of a birth certificate went viral on social ⁠media showing a baby girl named Quiñona Ysisidra Morita ‌Haaland Guevara - a reference to Mexican stars ‌Julián Quiñones and Gilberto Mora as well as the Norwegian striker.

Ysisidra is a play on "Y ‌si sí?", or "What if?", the upbeat mantra chanted by Mexican fans until ‌they were knocked out by England in the last 16.

Mexico's governance secretariat did not immediately verify the authenticity of the certificate.

In Argentina, Enzo, Emiliano and Lionel topped the list of most popular boy names in the northeastern province of Salta the week before ‌the final, according to local authorities who attributed the trend to the "World Cup phenomenon."

Argentina's World Cup team, who ⁠will play in ⁠Sunday's final, include midfielder Enzo Fernandez and goalkeeper Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez, as well as team captain Messi.

Fabiola Molina, who hosts Mexico City-based podcast "Sin manual para padres" ("No manual for parents"), told Reuters the trend had a history across Latin America dating back to Diego Maradona's 1986 goal against England.

"A few years ago when the Backstreet Boys were popular, many women were naming their sons Kevin and Brian, and that's why it's very common in countries like Bolivia, Chile and Argentina to find someone called Brian Gonzalez, for example."

"It's funny, but it could also be prejudicial to children when they grow up," she said. "Just because your name is Messi or Lionel, it doesn't mean you'll grow up to be a good soccer player — destiny won't carve that out for you."

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Northeast Spain Wildfire Destroys Over 12,000 Hectares

Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)
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Northeast Spain Wildfire Destroys Over 12,000 Hectares

Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)
Firefighters work at a site, following a wildfire in the municipality of Ores, northern Aragon region, Spain July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a video. (Spanish Military Emergency Unit/Handout via Reuters)

A major wildfire that has been raging for two days in northeast Spain has reduced more than 12,000 hectares of land to ash, regional authorities said Friday, warning of a "very high risk of spreading".

"The night has been very complex, very difficult. At this time, we estimate that the burned area exceeds 12,000 hectares" (29,650 acres), Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, who is responsible for security issues within the regional government of Aragon, told the media.

Spain is still reeling from another fire last week in the southern Andalusia region that killed 13 people -- including seven Britons and an American -- and destroyed 7,000 hectares, the deadliest such disaster in the country's recent history.

More than 450 firefighters backed by army reinforcements were battling the growing blaze near the city of Zaragoza, in a sparsely populated part of the Aragon region, where five small villages have been evacuated.

Peak temperatures of up to 40C have hit Aragon in recent days.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is increasing the length, intensity and frequency of extreme heat, which creates favorable conditions for the spread of wildfires and complicates firefighting efforts.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned Tuesday on a visit to fire-devastated Andalusia that Spain was facing a "complicated summer" for wildfires.

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Scientists Find New Monkey Species in Congo's Rainforest

Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS
Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS
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Scientists Find New Monkey Species in Congo's Rainforest

Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS
Two 'Likweli' monkeys of a newly-identified species of Colobus monkey, discovered in Lomami National Park, sit on a tree branch, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in this undated handout image. Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society/Handout via REUTERS

Scientists have identified a new species of monkey in Democratic Republic of Congo's rainforest, distinguished by patches of light-colored skin around its mouth, Florida Atlantic University said in a statement.

The discovery marks only the fifth new monkey species identified in Africa in the last 75 ⁠years, according to ⁠the statement issued this week.

The species known by locals as "Likweli" was named Colobus congoensis by scientists.

Small in size, the black monkey ⁠has a distinctive "mask-like appearance" with a vivid orange-cream patch surrounding its mouth and nose.

The newly identified primate's roaring possesses a distinct acoustic structure, the research showed.

"This discovery reinforces how much biodiversity remains undocumented in the Central Congo Basin," Reuters quoted John ⁠Hart, ⁠a conservation scientist from the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, as saying.

Researchers warn the monkey may already be at risk due to its small range area and population size and propose the International Union for Conservation of Nature should classify it as endangered.