Money Today Reporter Hong Hyo-jin | 2023.10.19 13:52
16Appearance of the Psyche asteroid / Photo = NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU ‘Psyche’ is an asteroid located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is about 2.2 billion miles (3.6 billion km) from Earth. Asteroid Psyche was named by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, who discovered it in 1852. It is also called ’16 Psyche’ because it is the 16th asteroid discovered. Unlike most asteroids, which are made up of rock and ice, Psyche is made up of metals such as iron and nickel.
There is a claim in the scientific community that Psyche may be a part of the solar system that fell off during the formation of the early planets. There are expectations that by studying Psyche, we can learn about the formation process of the Earth and the origin of the solar system. This is because Psyche is presumed to be the innermost core of the planet due to its nature as it is mainly made of metal. It is assumed that when the solar system was formed about 4.5 billion years ago, it continued to collide with other objects, causing the outer rock layer to fall off and only the inner core to remain.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched SpaceX’s ‘Falcon Heavy’ carrying the Psyche probe from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:19 am on the 13th. The probe Psyche is scheduled to travel approximately 3.9 billion km over 6 years and reach Psyche in 2029. Afterwards, it will orbit Psyche for 26 months and observe its magnetic field, mineral composition, and topography.
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