Key facts about NASA's Psyche mission launching on October 12
NASA is preparing for the launch of its Psyche mission, touted to be the first mission to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Lift-off is scheduled for October 12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission target asteroid, also called Psyche 16, is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The space rock has an estimated value of $10,000 quadrillion, surpassing the world's combined GDP of $105 trillion, per Metro News.
Unraveling the secrets of planetary formation
NASA believes that 16 Psyche presents a unique chance to investigate a "new type of world," one that's made of metal and not of rock and ice, notes NASA. In probing this asteroid, the mission could offer valuable insights into planetary cores and Earth's formation. Earth, Mercury, and Mars possess metallic cores, but they lie far beneath the planets' rocky crusts to be studied directly.
A glimpse into a metal world
First discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, 16 Psyche is the largest M-type (metallic) asteroid in our solar system. It measures about 280km at its widest point and 232km long. The asteroid is thought to contain iron, nickel, and other metals abundant in the solar system. Researchers think Psyche may have begun as an iron-rich core of a planetesimal—building block of an early planet—that lost its outer crust and mantle due to collisions with other rocky objects.
The Psyche spacecraft and its instruments
The Psyche spacecraft will be equipped with a suite of scientific instruments including a magnetometer, multispectral imager, and spectrometer. Additionally, the mission will examine the asteroid's surface for signs of differentiation, a process where elements separate inside a planet, causing heavy materials to sink and form a core. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to journey to the asteroid. It is estimated to reach its target destination in 2029, followed by two years of mapping and studying its properties.
Cost of bringing back Psyche samples would be very 'high'
A 2020 study suggested Psyche could be worth quadrillions of dollars—but that kind of price tag can't really be placed on Psyche, said Philip Metzger, physicist from Florida Space Institute. "If you brought back as much metal as likely exists in Psyche, then the metals would no longer be rare and the price would plummet," said Metzger. The transportation cost of bringing back the metal from Psyche would be so high that you can not make any profit at all.
