Photo by 2di7 & titanio44 on Flickr.com
NASA and SpaceX are traveling to the asteroid 16 Psyche. Could the asteroid, which is estimated to contain metal worth $10 trillion, be a new source of income?
The asteroid has been a goal for NASA for a while, and it is even more valuable than the whole world’s economy. The space agency has developed a new route to the asteroid 16 Psyche after delaying its research mission in the summer. This is the expedition to investigate the $10 quadrillion asteroid.
Why is NASA so concerned about 16 Psyche, and what is it?
One of the most significant features in outer space may be 16 Psyche, which was first spotted in 1852. The boulder, which accounts for 1% of the mass of the whole asteroid belt, is believed to contain metals worth $10 quintillion, including iron, nickel, and gold.
Although the asteroid is a matter of curiosity because of its value, NASA is not tying its research mission to it. The US space agency stated that it is not interested in the material value of metals, but in their planetary origins.
Reaching the 16 Psyche is a goal of NASA and SpaceX’s new collaboration. The mission’s goal is for the spacecraft to reach Psyche and gather samples from its surface. It will be launched on October 10, 2023, using SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
Even still, the highly desired Psyche’s delivery date will be later than anticipated. A three-year delay will result from the asteroid’s deviation from Mars’ gravitational field. Thus, rather than 2026, NASA will eventually reach 16 Psyches in 2029.
A multispectral imager will be used by the NASA spacecraft as it orbits the asteroid. A variety of tools, including gamma-ray, neutron, and magnetometer spectrometers housed in this imager, will be employed to start the research process.
