Psyche, named after the Greek goddess of the soul, was first discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis in 1852.
Scientists believe that 30 to 60 percent of the asteroid’s volume is an exposed nickel-iron core, based on observations made from Earth. It is thought to be the remnants of an ancient planetary body that formed during the early stages of our solar system, possibly comparable to the mysterious core of Earth.
Sarah Noble, a NASA program scientist, expressed excitement about the unique opportunity to study a fundamental building block of a planet that is otherwise inaccessible: “This is truly an incredible chance for us to learn about the core of a planet, which we cannot explore through any other means.”
The spacecraft will take approximately six years to reach the asteroid and will spend 26 months orbiting it. The total cost of the mission, excluding the launch expenses, is estimated to be around $850 million.
Lindy T. Elkins-Tanton, the principal investigator for the Psyche mission and a professor at Arizona State University, believes that this exploration will contribute to our understanding of planet formation, particularly in relation to habitable planets like Earth.
Elkins-Tanton compares Earth to a cake that results from planet formation, stating, “All the ingredients have been mixed and heated to create this multi-layered planet that we have, but we have never encountered one of the main ingredients, which is the metallic core.”
While many terrestrial planets, including Earth, have metallic cores, our planet’s core is located about 1,800 miles beneath the surface, making it difficult to study physically with drills and scientific instruments.
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