If exploitable, the economic value this asteroid brings could be 75,000 times the global economic scale.
According to Forbes, the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) is in the final stages of development of a mission to discover an asteroid called 16 Psyche.
Scheduled to leave Earth in August 2022, the technical system and equipment for the spacecraft of the same name (Psyche) are currently being inspected, assembled and finished. NASA said it was a “miraculous” achievement in the current context of the pandemic.
The 16 Psyche study will help scientists learn more about the formation of the Earth and other planets. In economic terms, the value of 16 Psyche could reach 10,000 million USD if it can be exploited, 75,188 times more than the world economy in 2019 according to the World Bank (133 trillion USD).
16 Psyche is a predominantly iron and nickel asteroid, approximately 226 km in diameter, located in the asteroid belt of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Psyche 16 is believed to be the core of the dead planet with its lost shell.
NASA will study the age and surface properties of 16 Psyche. In addition, the agency also wants to know if 16 Psyche is the nucleus of a primitive planet, formed in a manner similar to the core of Earth.
The exposed nickel-iron core of 16 Psyche is one of the basic building blocks that make up the solar system. Every rocky planet has an iron-nickel core, but they are encased in a crust, so they cannot be studied.
NASA has reportedly invested $ 967 million for the 16 Psyche exploration mission, including $ 850 million in development and $ 117 million in rocket launch costs. This is part of a program to explore NASA space missions with low cost robots.
Despite many promises, the actual economic value 16 Psyche can bring is still questionable. In fact, mining the planet for iron and nickel could ruin the Earth’s market for these materials.
The Psyche missile will be launched in August 2022 on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, along with two other exploration satellites from NASA’s Janus mission. Once in Psyche, the spacecraft will use the magnetometer to search for the iron-nickel magnetic field, take photos, and analyze the composition of the planet’s surface. Only then will we know the real value of the planet scientifically and economically.
A space mission generally has 6 stages A-F. The solar-powered Psyche spacecraft is in phase D – assembly, test and launch. In the next step, the spaceship will be put into space to operate.
The frame of the Psyche ship was manufactured by Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California. The spacecraft will now be transferred to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for assembly, testing and launch.
“It’s really the last step, when all the parts are put together and we get on the rocket … It’s a special step – not just with the decade-long project, but also. With the recent fluctuations in our lives, ”said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, senior researcher at the University of Arizona.
The distance between Earth and Psyche 16 is approximately 370 million km. After launching in August 2022, Psyche will receive the impact of supporting gravity from Mars in May 2023 before reaching its goal in 2026. Collecting and studying the planet will be long for 21 months.
