[The Epoch Times, February 06, 2023](The Epoch Times reporter Linda compiled a report) Somewhere between Mars and Jupiter, the asteroid “16 Psyche” (16 Psyche) orbits the sun. NASA plans to go there on October 1, aiming to explore whether the spiritual planet is rich in metal minerals that can be mined.
Shaped like a potato, the 140-mile-wide asteroid is likely the remnant of a shattered planetary core. It’s not easy to get to the core of a planet, which usually has many layers of mantle and crust surrounding it. The researchers believe that Psyche may be what’s left after a space collision stripped off its outer layers, and lies between 235 million and 309 million miles from the sun.
NASA originally planned to launch the Psyche spacecraft last year, but delays in the spacecraft’s software pushed it back to October of this year, when it will launch on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
Once the spacecraft is close to Psyche (probably at least four years after launch), NASA plans to study it with a suite of instruments, from a multispectral camera to gamma-ray and neutron spectrometers and magnetometers. The spacecraft will communicate with Earth using high-gain antennas.
NASA says exploring Psyche may improve understanding of Earth’s core. NASA is very interested in exploring a metal-rich asteroid up close.
In 2020, NASA’s Lindy Elkins-Tanton stated that the metals contained in Psyche could be worth ten quadrillion (10¹⁹) dollars, which is equivalent to 30 billion dollars per U.S. citizen Dollar. And in addition to iron and nickel, there may be many other precious metals, such as gold, platinum, iridium, and so on.
Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how to dig – and that’s not the point of our mission to explore Psyche. Therefore, let’s not think about the huge value of this asteroid, but first focus on scientific exploration. ◇#
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei