NASA's Psyche Mission: Unlocking the Secrets of an Iron-rich Quadrillion Worth Asteroid

NASA has resumed the Psyche mission, which is set to launch this year, aiming to explore the science and mining potential of the 16 Psyche asteroid. Psyche, a 140-mile diameter, metal-rich asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, could be the remnant of a shattered planet’s core. NASA plans to study it using instruments such as multispectral cameras and Gamma Ray and neutron spectrometers, communicating with Earth via a high-gain antenna.

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If it contains a magnetic field, it could offer insight into Earth’s core. The asteroid’s metal content could be worth up to $10,000 quadrillion, including gold and platinum, although mining is not the mission’s focus. It will take about four years for NASA‘s Psyche spacecraft to slingshot around Mars for a gravity assist to orbit the asteroid at a distance of about 700 km.

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Psyche is the largest M class asteroid, thought to be the remnants of iron-rich cores of proto-planets. If it proves to be part of a core, it would be from the first generation of iron-cored planets in the solar system. The asteroid’s thermal radiation suggests it is composed of at least 20% metal. While space mining may seem far-fetched, several start-ups have made asteroid mining plans, and AstroForge, an asteroid mining company, has a test launch planned.

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Psyche’s metal content, worth 10 quintillion dollars, was estimated by Psyche’s principal investigator, Lindy Elkins-Tanton, a planetary scientist at Arizona State University, based on metal prices, including nickel, a few years ago. However, the estimate is fallacious and only serves as an amusing case study in supply and demand extremes.