NASA launches probe to asteroid ‘Psyche’ 600 million km away on the 12th
Psyche, made up of up to 60% iron, believed to be the ‘core’ of a previously destroyed planet
Aerial exploration starting in 2029… Expecting the effect of observing the Earth’s inner core, which cannot be explored
An illustration of a probe approaching the asteroid ‘Psyche’, which wanders in space up to 598 million km away from Earth. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch a probe from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the 12th (local time). Provided by NASA
#One day, something strange suddenly happens in Trafalgar Square, London, where many citizens and tourists were spending leisurely time. Many pigeons flying in the sky suddenly crashed into buildings and cars and died. At a similar time, in Boston, USA, people with pacemakers in their chests collapsed and died without any premonitory symptoms.
The cause was the weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field. The secret weapon ‘Destiny’, created by the US government to attack enemies by creating artificial earthquakes, unexpectedly damaged the ‘core’ inside the Earth, weakening the Earth’s magnetic field.
The Earth has a crust on the outermost surface, and the mantle and core are located one after another toward the center. It is similar to an apple being made of peel, pulp, and seeds. The U.S. government urgently dispatches a special team of scientists to the Earth’s core in a special vehicle to solve the problem.
American film released in 2003 <코어>This is the plot of . But actually <코어>As in, the possibility of people or vehicles reaching the core of the Earth’s center is currently completely imaginary and unlikely. In reality, humans have never ventured deeper than 12 km below the Earth’s surface due to technological limitations. To reach the Earth’s core, you have to dig down 500 times deeper, about 6,000 km.
However, recently, a method has emerged to find out in detail the structure and composition of the Earth’s core without having to go underground. Unexpectedly, the answer was not under the Earth, but in an asteroid wandering in space.
Attention to asteroid made of ‘iron’
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch a probe from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the 12th (local time) toward the asteroid ‘Psyche’, which wanders in space up to 598 million km from Earth (four times the distance between Earth and the Sun). I plan to do it. The name of the space probe is ‘Psyche’, the same as the asteroid.
The Psyche probe is 25 meters wide and 7.3 meters long when its solar panels for electricity production are unfolded. The area is similar to a tennis court. The weight is 2747 kg, which is the weight of a large sports utility vehicle (SUV).
The Psyche asteroid is 280 km across, which is similar to the straight line distance between Seoul and Gwangju. The length is 232 km. It is quite large for an asteroid. The Psyche probe is scheduled to conduct an aerial exploration of the Psyche asteroid for 2 years and 2 months starting in 2029.
However, the reason NASA wants to send a probe to the Psyche asteroid is not because of its distance or size. This is because of the ingredients that make up asteroids. The Psyche asteroid contains a lot of metal. The main ingredient is iron. On the other hand, ordinary asteroids are different. The main ingredient is rock. NASA estimates that up to 60% of Psyche’s total volume will be metal, primarily iron.
This means that the Psyche asteroid is likely to be a very large ‘iron ball’. NASA obtained this information from data collected through astronomical telescopes on Earth, and this time, they plan to send a probe right in front of the Psyche asteroid to check whether there really is a large amount of iron.
Earth’s ‘core’ indirect observation effect
Why does NASA conduct this exploration? This is because the Psyche asteroid is believed to contain information about the Earth’s core. NASA estimates that Psyche was a normal planet like Earth billions of years ago. This means that it is highly likely that it had a core made of iron on the inside, and rocks forming the crust and mantle on the outside.
However, NASA estimates that Psyche’s rocky part was blown away when it collided with an unknown celestial body in the solar system. Comparing it to an apple, someone eats all of the flesh and only the seed in the center remains. For this reason, NASA expects that close observation of Psyche will have a similar effect to looking into the core of the Earth’s center.
There is a reason why NASA uses such a roundabout method to research the Earth’s core. To study the Earth’s core, the most reliable way is to dig close to the core and send people or equipment. But the Earth’s core is too hot. The temperature reaches 6000 degrees, the same as the surface of the sun. The melting point of tungsten, the metal that best resists heat, is only 3400 degrees. In short, no matter what material the exploration equipment is made of, it is impossible to get close to the Earth’s core.
The current internal structure of the Earth has been indirectly discovered by analyzing the movement of seismic waves. For this reason, NASA expects that observations of the Psyche asteroid will provide a new opportunity to study Earth in a way that has never been done before.
The Psyche probe was equipped with a ‘multispectral imaging device’. NASA said in official data, “It is a device that collects not only visible light but also infrared rays that humans cannot see,” and “It is also equipped with a camera with a telephoto lens.”
Gamma-ray and neutron spectrometers are also included. NASA explained, “By capturing the neutrons and gamma rays created when space radiation collides with the surface of the Psyche asteroid, we will be able to know exactly what material Psyche is made of.”
