There is an asteroid with a metal composition that lurks around between Mars and Jupiter while orbiting the Sun and it is made up mainly of gold. Named Psyche 16, it was first discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis and he named the asteroid after the Greek Goddess of Soul Psyche.
Recently NASA announced that it will be launching a mission to the asteroid and the mission is expected to be ready by 2022 for launch. It's estimated that it will arrive at the asteroid by 31 January 2026 but not before they make a fly-by of Mars in 2023.
The asteroid’s core is similar to that of Earth Nickel and Iron. Scientists think that the asteroid could be the exposed core of an early planet that was as big as Mars. It might have lost its rocky layer due to past violent collisions, billions of years ago. This might be exciting news because it would mean that scientists can look at the history of the solar system when protoplanet dashing cars took place.
A protoplanet is a body of matter that orbits the sun and later develops into planets.
There will be three payloads on the mission that will complete the aim of the mission that is understanding the formation of planets if Psyche 16 is the core of an old planet. They also want to know how old the asteroid is and how similar the core is to that of our Earth.
Several instruments will go onboard the mission including a magnetometer that will detect and measure the magnetic field of the asteroid. A multi-spectral imager will provide high-resolution images using filters to differentiate between Psyche's metallic and silicate constituents. Its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer will detect, measure, and map Psyche's elemental composition. The mission also will test a sophisticated new laser communications technology, called Deep Space Optical Communications.
The Psyche mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program, a series of low-cost, highly focused robotic space missions. This mission will be led by Arizona State University and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is responsible for the management of the mission, its operations, and navigation.
As well as gold, the mysterious object is loaded with heaps of platinum, iron, and nickel. In total, it's estimated that Psyche's various metals are worth a gargantuan £8,000 quadrillion. That means if we carried it back to Earth, it would destroy commodity prices and cause the world's economy worth £59.5trillion to collapse.
We've known about Psyche 16 for a while, but its potential to cause havoc on Earth was recently touched upon by a veteran miner. Scott Moore, who heads up EuroSun Mining, said the sheer amount of gold in the asteroid threatens to throw the gold industry into chaos.
Scott Moore, who heads up EuroSun Mining, said the sheer amount of gold in the asteroid threatens to throw the gold industry into chaos said, the Titans of Gold now control hundreds of the best-producing properties around the world. But the 4-5 million ounces of gold they bring to the market every year pales in comparison to the conquests available in space.
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