R&I ~ MJM
In August 2022, NASA will send a space probe to an asteroid dubbed 16 Psyche that resides in the Main Asteroid Belt between planets Mars and Jupiter.
When observing Psyche from Earth, the celestial body appears as a fuzzy blur. But by observing light reflected off it, scientists hypothesize the asteroid may be unusually rich in metal. The core is thought to be made up of exposed metallic iron, nickel, and gold, based on casual observations made on Earth, reports Jamie Carter for Forbes. First discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis in 1852, the celestial body is suspected to be the core of a shattered planetesimal, a planet-forming building block.
Visible and infrared wavelength measurements on Earth suggest the metal-rich asteroid is shaped like a potato, according to a statement by NASA. Dubbed an M-type asteroid for its potentially high concentration of metal, Psyche has a diameter of 140 miles, or the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego, California. The asteroid has a five-year orbital period, but it completes rotations every four hours, so a Psyche “day” is actually rather short. If found to indeed be made of metal and confirmed to be a planetesimal, Psyche could reveal what the inside of planets like Earth look like underneath the layers of mantle and crust, and further help researchers understand how the solar system formed, per a statement.
NASA’s Psyche mission, set to launch in August 2022, will orbit an area in space that astronomers can barely spot from Earth and have never reached before. If the asteroid’s riches are confirmed, it may be worth more than the global economy at $10 quintillion, per Forbes. That total may sound like a lot, but Psyche actually tails behind Davida, which is valued at an estimated $27 quintillion, reported Business Insider in June 2021.
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