NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) telescope provides new insights into 16 Psyche, the asteroid believed to be metal-rich and one of the largest in the asteroid belt.
The space agency's Psyche mission and spacecraft will journey to the cosmic object and research its characteristics. The situation comes as the true nature of the asteroid is still largely unknown, and new research from SOFIA and NASA's Ames Research Center could help scientists predict what to expect at Psyche.
NASA's Psyche Mission
In the last few years, scientists have theorized that 16 Psyche's characteristics, especially as Psyche teams have started planning the mission and its goals. One of the primary hypotheses behind the origins of the asteroid is that it was once the iron-rich interior of a planetesimal or a forming planet.
Scientists believe that the surface of the planetesimal was blown away by the near-constant collisions between it and other planetary materials that existed in the early solar system. After the asteroid's surface was blown away, the only thing that remained was the core, believed to be what researchers now know as Psyche, as per NASA Space Flight.
Despite this hypothesis and data to support it, scientists are still largely unsure of the exact nature of the asteroid and its features. The scientists that will study the asteroid are led by Psyche's principal investigator, Maggie McAdam of Ames, and lead author Anicia Arredondo of the Southwest Research Institute.
When SOFIA was still in operation, it was a reflecting telescope integrated into a Boeing 747SP airplane. This unique setup allowed scientists to observe astronomical objects from above the planet's lower atmosphere and any location on Earth, even oceans.
Its observations of Psyche were the first to gather data from every part of the mysterious asteroid's surface. They allowed scientists to research and analyze the materials that make up the cosmic object's surface. This is crucial information for understanding the entire asteroid and could never have been collected by telescopes on our planet's surface.
Metal-Rich Asteroid
NASA set the launch of its Psyche spacecraft for Oct. 12, and it will be from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to the Voice of America News, the mysterious asteroid orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter and was first discovered by an Italian astronomer in 1852.
The latest mission will be NASA's first trip to an asteroid made mostly of metal, as past missions only explored asteroids made mostly of rock or ice. Psyche is said to be about 280 kilometers at its widest point.
After NASA's Psyche spacecraft launches, it will travel roughly 2.2 billion miles to the main asteroid belt and orbit around the metal-rich asteroid. The spacecraft's journey will take under six years and is expected to arrive in 2029.
The main mission is set for August 2029 and is when the spacecraft will use its instruments, including a camera, spectrometer, and magnetometer, to investigate the Psyche asteroid. The study would provide insights to understand how rocky planets, such as Earth or Mars, formed, said Digital Trends.
