The mission — the first to a metal asteroid — could reveal secrets about our solar system’s earliest days while setting the stage for a future space mining industry. - NBCNewsMACH
The solar-powered Psyche spacecraft will launch in 2022 and arrive at the asteroid on Jan. 31, 2026. It will study Psyche and map its surface for 21 months, using a trio of scientific instruments: a magnetometer to measure what may be left of the asteroid’s magnetic field; a spectrometer to map its chemical composition; and a camera to snap high-resolution images of the asteroid.
“We know very little about them,” Abbud-Madrid said. “We’ve only seen these asteroids in telescopes, so these are very unique objects.” This potential bounty captured the imagination of venture capitalists eager to cash in on asteroid mining, with some estimating that Psyche could contain metals with an. It also grabbed the attention of media outlets, with some calling Psyche a"golden asteroid" and others saying the space rock could turn celestial prospectors into trillionaires.
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