Friday, October 13, 2023

NASA Launches Mission to Metal Asteroid Psyche

NASA's Psyche spacecraft launched on a journey to explore a unique metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid Psyche is thought to be the exposed core of a demolished planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.


Psyche is about 225 miles (362 kilometers) in diameter and is thought to be composed of up to 95% iron and nickel, similar to the composition of Earth's core. This makes Psyche a compelling subject of study for scientists who are trying to learn more about how planets form and evolve.


The Psyche mission will arrive at the asteroid in 2026 and spend 21 months orbiting it, mapping its surface and studying its composition. Scientists hope to learn more about how Psyche formed, why it is so metal-rich, and what it can tell us about the cores of other planets in our solar system.


The Psyche mission is the first mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that contains substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice. The mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which funds missions to explore new and emerging frontiers in space science.


What we may learn from Psyche


Scientists hope to learn a great deal from the Psyche mission, including:


How Psyche formed and why it is so metal-rich.


What the structure and composition of Psyche's core is like.


How the cores of other rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved.


Whether Psyche is the remnant of a protoplanet, which is a building block of a planet that was destroyed early in the solar system's history.


The Psyche mission could also help scientists to better understand the formation of asteroids and meteorites, which are thought to be remnants of protoplanets and other early solar system objects.


The Psyche mission is a groundbreaking mission that is expected to revolutionize our understanding of the formation and evolution of planets. The mission's findings will have important implications for our understanding of our own planet, Earth, and the solar system as a whole.


Unlikely Buddha 2023



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