NASA's Psyche mission begins its journey to explore metal-rich asteroid

Psyche spacecraft takes flight atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image courtesy: NASA)

NASA's Psyche spacecraft, designed to help scientists learn about the formation of rocky bodies in our solar system, embarked on its journey to the metal-rich asteroid from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on October 13 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Psyche is both the name of a metal-rich asteroid, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, and the name of the NASA space mission. This pioneering mission represents the first such effort to examine an asteroid whose surface is primarily made up of metallic components.

What lies ahead in Psyche's expedition?

After escaping Earth’s gravity, the Psyche mission will employ solar electric propulsion to complete its extensive six-year voyage to the metal-rich asteroid. Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to reach its destination in 2029 covering a distance of approximately 2.2 billion miles (3.6-billion-kilometers). Following its arrival, the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid for 26 months, capturing images, mapping the surface, and gathering crucial data to ascertain the composition of the Psyche asteroid. Scientists aim to uncover the asteroid's history and gain knowledge about what it is made of. Around two months into the mission, the team can look forward to receiving the first set of images.

What Psyche could be 

The asteroid known as Psyche, with an estimated width of 173 miles (279 kilometers) and a surface area of roughly 165,800 square kilometers, is believed to represent either a partial or complete remnant of a planetesimal's iron-rich core, which served as a foundational element in the creation of rocky planets.

Asteroid Psyche, estimated to be about measuring 173 miles (279 kilometers) at its widest point and a surface area of approximately 165,800 square kilometers, may be part or all of the iron-rich core of a planetesimal, a building block of a rocky planet. It could be that this asteroid endured multiple high-impact collisions when the solar system was forming. These collisions might have stripped away Psyche's outer layer of rocky material. Psyche holds the potential to offer valuable insights into the development of Earth's core and the cores of other terrestrial planets. There is also a possibility that Psyche could be the leftover piece of a completely distinct type of iron-rich celestial body.

Why to study Psyche

The motivation for studying Psyche lies in its high metal content. Discoveries from this metal-enriched asteroid have the capacity to enrich our comprehension of how planets come into existence. Scientists hope that learning about the asteroid will tell us more about planetary cores and Earth’s own formation.

Scientific arsenal for asteroid investigation

The spacecraft's instruments will play distinct roles in the examination of asteroid Psyche. They will be employed to identify traces of a magnetic field on the asteroid, analyze its chemical composition, and gather information about both its mineral makeup and surface features.

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DSOC flies on Psyche

Attached to Psyche is the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC), a NASA experiment designed to evaluate optical or laser communications capabilities in the space environment beyond the Moon. This test, a first of its kind, has the potential to provide valuable insights for future NASA missions.

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Be a part of the journey, too

NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System, a free web-based 3D visualization tool, will track the location of the spacecraft in real time. Visit go.nasa.gov/45k0OVY to see Psyche's location in the solar system.