NASA mission to explore metal-rich asteroid that’s worth more than global economy

An illustration depicting NASA's Psyche spacecraft (Image credit: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov)

NASA is targeting October 2023 for the launch of its Psyche mission to explore a unique, metal-rich asteroid of the same name.

16 Psyche is a 226-kilometer-wide asteroid between Mars and Jupiter that could contain iron, nickel and gold worth an estimated $10,000 quadrillion – which is more than the global economy, reports Forbes.

According to NASA, what makes “the asteroid Psyche unique is that it appears to be the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.”

Studying the asteroid could offer valuable insights on what lies underneath the surface of rocky, terrestrial planets like Earth. “Deep within rocky, terrestrial planets – including Earth – scientists infer the presence of metallic cores, but these lie unreachably far below the planets' rocky mantles and crusts. Because we cannot see or measure Earth’s core directly, Psyche offers a unique window into the violent history of collisions and accretion that created terrestrial planets,” NASA explained.

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft was slated for launch in August 2022 but the mission was delayed by development issues, including software and equipment problems. The US space agency is now eyeing October 2023 for launch of the spacecraft.

If all goes to plan, the Psyche spacecraft will reach the asteroid in August 2029. “The new flight profile is similar to the one originally planned for August 2022, using a Mars gravity assist in 2026 to send the spacecraft on its way to the asteroid Psyche,” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said.

Psyche orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter at a distance ranging from 235 million to 309 million miles. Scientists who have studied the asteroid from Earth in visible and infrared wavelengths inferred that it is shaped somewhat like a potato.