A probe to investigate the asteroid ’16 Psyche’, which is expected to be worth 1,000 quintillion dollars, will be launched after the 12th of this month. The mission execution date was delayed by about a week compared to initially expected.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on the 2nd through its official channel that ‘Psyche’, which will explore ’16 Psyche’, will fly into outer space after the 12th. NASA delayed the mission timing somewhat to inspect the nitrogen gas injectors.
An illustration of the 16 Saiki asteroids, which appear to have exposed the interior of the Earth’s surface after a collision. <사진=NASA 공식 홈페이지>
The ‘Saiki’ probe will investigate the ’16 Saiki’ asteroid orbiting the sun in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. NASA raised expectations by announcing on its official SNS on July 8 last year that the ‘Saiki’ probe had completed most of its assembly and began comprehensive inspection.
At the end of last month, more than a year later, NASA decided to launch the ‘Psyche’ probe on October 5 and began final inspections. During this process, when a problem was discovered with the injector that uses nitrogen gas, the schedule was readjusted.
An illustration of the Psyche probe approaching 16 Psyches valued at 1 trillion dollars. <사진=NASA 공식 홈페이지>
The ’16 Saiki’ asteroid is so rich in nickel, iron, and gold that it has been called a ‘cosmic bonanza’. This asteroid, with a diameter of about 226 km, rotates vertically, and it is presumed that part of the core broke through the surface due to a collision for unknown reasons.
The ‘Psyche’ mission was originally scheduled for 2022, but the launch date continued to be postponed due to budget issues. If it is mounted on Space
Reporter Jeong Ian anglee@sputnik.kr
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