NASA’s Psyche mission to explore world made of metal in outer space

NASA's Psyche spacecraft would arrive at the asteroid in early 2026, following a Mars gravity assist in 2023. During 21 months in orbit, the spacecraft will map and study the asteroid's properties using a magnetometer, a multispectral imager, and a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer to improve the scientific community's understanding of asteroid Psyche.

NASA's Psyche spacecraft will embark on its journey to an uncharted world made of metal, a unique asteroid called Psyche, in August 2022 from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is aimed at solving the riddles of the unique metal-rich asteroid in outer space.

Psyche is a giant metal-rich asteroid that orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid is about three times farther away from the Sun than is the Earth. Scientists hypothesize that the asteroid is made largely of metal - iron and nickel - from the core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of the Sun's planetary system.

Launching in August 2022 from Kennedy Space Center, @NASA's Psyche spacecraft will orbit a metal-rich asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.Scientists believe Psyche is made mostly of iron and nickel and could be the core of an early planet: https://t.co/GUk0df26AT pic.twitter.com/gVcIqcCgBq

— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) December 29, 2021

NASA's Psyche spacecraft would arrive at the asteroid in early 2026, following a Mars gravity assist in 2023. During 21 months in orbit, the spacecraft will map and study the asteroid's properties using a magnetometer, a multispectral imager, and a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer to improve the scientific community's understanding of asteroid Psyche.

"If it turns out to be part of a metal core, it would be part of the very first generation of early cores in our solar system. But we don't really know, and we won't know anything for sure until we get there. We wanted to ask primary questions about the material that built planets. We're filled with questions and not a lot of answers. This is real exploration," says Arizona State University's Lindy Elkins-Tanton, who as principal investigator leads the Psyche mission.

In addition, the Psyche mission will test Deep Space Optical Communication, a sophisticated new laser communication technology to enhance communications speeds and prepare for data-intensive transmissions.