NASA’s Psyche Mission: Unlocking the Secrets of an Iron-rich Quadrillion Worth Asteroid
NASA's Psyche mission is set to launch this year, with the aim of exploring the science and mining potential of the 16 Psyche asteroid.
The 140-mile diameter, metal-rich asteroid orbits between Mars and Jupiter and is thought to be the remnants of a shattered planet's core.
NASA plans to use instruments such as multispectral cameras and Gamma Ray and neutron spectrometers to study Psyche, and will communicate with Earth via a high-gain antenna.
The presence of a magnetic field on Psyche could offer valuable insight into Earth's core.
While mining is not the focus of the mission, the asteroid's metal content, including gold and platinum, could be worth up to $10,000 quadrillion.
It will take approximately four years for NASA's Psyche spacecraft to slingshot around Mars for a gravity assist and orbit the asteroid at a distance of about 700 km.
Psyche is the largest M class asteroid and could be from the first generation of iron-cored planets in the solar system.
While space mining may seem far-fetched, several start-ups have already made asteroid mining plans, and AstroForge, an asteroid mining company, has a test launch planned.
The estimate of Psyche's metal content worth 10 quintillion dollars, although fallacious, serves as an interesting case study in supply and demand extremes.
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