Space Voyage to the Unknown: NASA’s Psyche Mission to the Metal Asteroid

An all metal asteroid named Psyche is about to be explored by NASA’s spacecraft of the same name – Psyche. This asteroid is absolutely unique – made out of iron and nickel and is something we have not yet observed. It is possible that it once was a planet not that dissimilar to ours, that lost its outer rocky layer as the time went by.

A Falcon-Heavy rocket launched from Florida a few days ago. The spacecraft has a long journey ahead of it, six years and 3.5 billion kilometres to cover. Scientists hope to uncover numerous surprises on the way to the iron asteroid.

What’s the deal with the Psyche asteroid that actually earned it a multi-million dollar space contract as the destination point of the latest human exploration? Well, it is very unique. Among the million and a half asteroids in our solar system, only nine share similar properties with Psyche, it is also the largest of its kind at about 280 kilometres wide.

Prof. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the principal investigator, emphasises the excitement of venturing into the unknown. Since there are no close-up pictures of Psyche that really does capture the spirit of exploration – its appearance is still a mystery.

Once the spacecraft arrives at its destination in 2029 it will map the asteroid’s shape, as well as study its interior. There is a theory that the surface of the asteroid might have spiky features due to high-speed space particles potentially forming metal sand.

Besides iron and nickel telescopes have also identified other materials such as sulfur-rich rocks on Psyche. Huge iron cliffs and canyons could potentially be found on the asteroid’s surface that formed as Psyche cooled and cracked over billions of years.

There are two schools of thought about the origin of Psyche. It could either be a stripped planet’s core, similar to that of Earth’s, or a primitive object composed of early solar system materials..

If the first theory is correct, it might have remains of a magnetic field, that would reveal its past as molten metal, similar to Earth’s magnetic field.

Of course, there is a potentially lucrative angle to this mission, since further exploration of Psyche could present an opportunity for asteroid mining that could be worth trillions of dollars. However, this type of mining industry is not yet possible due to technology and resource limitations.

The Psyche mission is a great testbed for new technologies, like electric propulsion and laser data transmission. The mission team plans to make real-time images of Psyche available to the public, providing an engaging journey into this enigmatic metallic world.