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| an asteroid that could make everyone on Earth a billionaire |
NASA has
confirmed the launch date of its mission to Psyche, which will study the
140-mile-wide asteroid "Psyche" that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
Whoever reads
the news at first sees that it may seem like the plot of a blockbuster
Hollywood movie, but this actually happens in real life.
Initial
studies have shown that there is a firm belief that the asteroid is full of
gold.
The mission
was supposed to launch in August 2022, but due to technical difficulties and
software issues, NASA missed the launch window.
However,
everyone's dream of becoming a billionaire may be on the horizon.
NASA has
confirmed that the "Psyche" mission will launch on October 1, 2023.
According to
Forbes, the asteroid could contain a core of iron, nickel, and gold worth
$10,000,000,000,000,000,000 — or $10,000 quadrillion.
And the
rocket that will be used to carry out this flight will be the SpaceX Falcon
Heavy Rocket ship.
Because of the
new launch date, the Psyche spacecraft will arrive at the asteroid in August
2029 instead of 2026, so we'll have to wait a little longer to see if we all
get super rich.
The mission
will be part of NASA's Discovery Program, which will consist of space
exploration using the low-cost robot.
Most
asteroids are rocky or icy, but Psyche is thought to be the exposed metallic
core of a dead planet.
The
researchers hope the study will help provide more insights and information into
our understanding of the Earth's core.
NASA explains
that the asteroid is different because it appears to be the “exposed
iron-nickel core of an ancient planet,” which just so happens to be one of the
“building blocks” of our solar system.
He explains:
"Deep in the rocky and terrestrial planets - including Earth - scientists
infer that there are metallic cores, but these lie elusively below the planets'
rocky mantles and crusts".
"Because
we can't directly see or measure Earth's core, Psyche provides a unique window
into the violent history of collisions and accretion that led to the creation
of the terrestrial planets".
The mission
is led by Arizona State University, while NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) is responsible for mission management, operations, and navigation.
Also part of
the mission is NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications Technology
Demonstration, which will test "space broadband" with high-speed data
lasers.
The Psyche
asteroid is in orbit around Mars and Jupiter, putting it 309 million miles from
the sun at the farthest point in that orbit.
Studies have
stated that it is the size of the US state of Massachusetts, with an average
diameter of about 140 miles.
The asteroid gets its name from the Greek god of spirit and was first identified in March 1852 by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis.
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