NASA successfully launched a spacecraft to explore the asteroid Psyche, which they believe is made of gold and platinum

Finally, the clouds and strong winds dissipated, and after yesterday’s delay due to a strong storm, NASA launched SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket With the Psyche space mission to explore the asteroid of the same name in the coming years.

The launch took place at 11:19 (1419 GMT) from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Minutes after that, Two of the three rockets that make up Falcon Heavy managed to return to Earth In a perfect landing, it was followed live on NASA TV.

the Psychological task He seeks to study a metallic asteroid called by the same name One of the most interesting objects in the asteroid beltBecause its composition is rich in minerals. It is believed that in addition to iron and nickel, the asteroid could also contain diamonds, platinum and gold.

Bill Nelson, NASA administrator He witnessed the launch live and was very excited. “Yesterday I was in Houston with a display of samples from the asteroid Bennu, which was my mission Osiris Rex It managed to return to Earth and today we have this launch towards another asteroid: Psyche. We are very happy about this new adventureNelson explained, “We believe that this metallic asteroid was once the core of a planet or moon.”

Scientists believe that Psyche may consist of large amounts of metal from the core of the young planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system. The asteroid likely survived several violent collisions common when the solar system was forming. Therefore, Psyche can tell us how the Earth’s core and the cores of other rocky or terrestrial planets came to be.

“We have seen other meteorites that are mostly metallic, however What makes Psyche unique is that it may be made entirely of iron, nickel, and other metalssaid Tracy Baker, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Texas, United States.

Becker is part of the latest research on the surface of the psyche. Some estimates suggest that the total economic value of all psychogenic minerals could exceed 10,000 quadrillion US dollars. Taking into account that the value of the global economy in 2019 was 142 billion US dollars According to German data portal Statista, Psyche minerals can be said to be valuable About 70,000 times more than the entire economy of our planet.

“What makes Psyche and other asteroids interesting is that They are considered the formation rocks of the solar system. “When we arrive, we’ll understand if that’s the case, and if not, it will be just as exciting,” Becker added of the object, which is roughly three times farther from the Sun than Earth, in the middle of the asteroid belt. It is located between the planets Mars and Jupiter.

The breath has an irregular, potato-like shape. If split in half horizontally at the equator, it would be 280 kilometers (173 miles) wide at its widest point and 232 kilometers (144 miles) long. It has an area of ​​64,000 square miles (165,800 square kilometers).

The asteroid orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter at a distance of between 235 million and 309 million miles. (378 million to 497 million km) from the Sun. This means 2.5 to 3.3 astronomical units (AU), with 1 AU being the distance between Earth and the Sun. It takes Psyche about five Earth years to complete one revolution around the Sun, but it takes just over four hours to rotate once on its axis (a psychic “day”).

“Until recently, the scientific consensus was that the asteroid Psyche was composed primarily of metal. The latest data suggests that the asteroid may be a mixture of metal and silicates, the same material found in glass and sand. The best analysis suggests that Psyche may be made of A mixture of rocks and minerals, And the metal is formed Between 30% to 60% of its volume. “The asteroid’s composition was determined through radar observations and measurements of the asteroid’s thermal inertia (the rate at which the body gains or re-radiates heat).”

He adds: “By combining optical and radar observations, scientists created a 3D model of Psyche.” Evidence of two crater-like depressions appears. It indicates that there is a large variation in the mineral content and color of the asteroid on its surface. But until NASA’s Psyche mission encounters the Psyche asteroid up close for the first time, we won’t know what it really looks like.

Psyche will travel to the asteroid using solar electric propulsion (Low Thrust), after the Mars flyby and gravity assist. It will reach its protoplanet of the same name in August 2029.

Once in orbit, the spacecraft will map and study Psyche using a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, a magnetometer, and a radio instrument (to measure gravity). The objective of the mission is, among other things, Determine whether Psyche is truly the core of a planet without a crust.

Psyche was discovered by an Italian astronomer Anibal de Gasparis On March 17, 1852. The asteroid was named after Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul who gave birth to a human and married Eros (Roman Cupid), the god of love.

Because it was the 16th asteroid to be discovered, it is sometimes known as 16 Psyche. The mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for mission management, operations, and navigation.