Saturday, 14 October 2023 | 07:15 WIB
Surya Lesmana / LES
Images from this animated video show NASA’s space probe approaching the rare asteroid Psyche, which is made of metal.
Cape Canaveral, Beritasatu.com – The US Space Agency (NASA) launched a rocket carrying the Psyche space probe on Friday (13/10/2023), for a six-year mission to chase a rare asteroid covered in metal content.
Most asteroids contain rock, and this is the first exploration to have metal. Scientists believe that the asteroid Psyche may be the remains of a damaged planetary core.
This NASA spacecraft was transported by a SpaceX rocket at midday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. This spacecraft is named after the asteroid it is chasing, Psyche, an asteroid shaped like a potato which is expected to be discovered in 2029.
“This is very exciting. “It’s been an incredible journey,” said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Of the nine or so metal-bearing asteroids discovered, Psyche is by far the largest, and orbits the outer reaches of the sun, between Mars and Jupiter along with millions of other space rocks.
Psyche was discovered in 1852 and named after the goddess of the soul in Greek mythology. “It’s long been a human dream to go to the metallic core of a planet,” said lead scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University before the launch.
Astronomers know from radar and other observations that the asteroid is large, about 232 square kilometers wide and 280 kilometers long. They believe the asteroid is filled with iron, nickel and other metals, and likely contains silicates.
According to Elkins-Tanton, this asteroid is believed to be a building block for planets from the formation of the solar system around 4.5 billion years ago. These asteroids can help answer fundamental questions such as how life emerged on Earth and what makes our planet habitable.
On Earth, the planet’s metallic core is responsible for the magnetic field that protects our atmosphere and makes life possible.
2023-10-14 00:15:00
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