Additionally, the spacecraft will utilize a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, a magnetometer, and a radio instrument for measuring gravity.
What is NASA’s objective in investigating this asteroid?
This huge, rare asteroid could make us all billionaires… hypothetically (Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)
The mission’s aim is, “among other things,” to “determine whether Psyche is the core of a planetesimal,” according to NASA.
A planetesimal is defined as “a small planet” that could “merge with others under gravity to form a planet.”
Insights from this study may also illuminate how Earth itself began to form.
As explained by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab: “Deep within rocky terrestrial planets—including Earth—scientists theorize the existence of metallic cores situated far below the rocky mantles and crusts.
“Since we cannot directly observe or measure Earth’s core, Psyche provides a unique glimpse into the tumultuous history of collisions and accretion that formed terrestrial planets.”
Featured Image Credit: NASA/Buradaki/Getty Images
