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It’s only been a year since I posted NASA Spaceship To track an asteroid There is gold, iron and nickel, it is worth 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 dollars, which means 10 quintillion dollars, we think, because the zeros are difficult to count.
According to the British Metro website, it is a mission that will take years to prepare, and it will take at least another five years to start receiving data from it, but it is believed that the asteroid known as 16 Psyche, or just Psyche, help us find out more about Earth, even if it is far away.
The Flying Gold Mine was literally discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, becoming the 16th known asteroid in history. Solar systemLike many things in the solar system, it is named after a goddess – Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul.
What is 16 Psyche?
In short, Psyche is an asteroid, but NASA describes it as one of the most interesting objects in the main asteroid belt – the asteroid that slides between Mars and Jupiter The asteroid is classified as an M-type asteroid (metal ), with metal making up to 60% of its members.
Psyche has an irregular, potato-like shape, and if cut in half, it would resemble something like a mashed apple Overall, the asteroid is 173 miles across at its widest point, and about 144 miles long, giving it a surface area. of 64,000 square miles. So far.
Why is Psyche 16 so valuable?
Not only is Psyche large, it is also believed to be made mostly of metal with a core of iron, nickel and gold, as well as rare elements needed for cars and electronics such as platinum and palladium Of the rare metals thought to be present in the medium, an estimated value of approx. 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 at the asteroid, which is much more than all the money on our planet.
However, this will be confirmed when the spacecraft reaches the asteroid, and it does not appear that the space agency has plans to bring any of this precious metal back home, so, not only it has a real gold mine in the middle, Researchers believe the asteroid could be There is a lot of metal from the core of a young planet – part of an early planet – one of the building blocks of our solar system.
This means that it could hold countless secrets about how the solar system formed, and reveal even more information about our planet, Earth. a window into the violent history of the collisions and accretion of matter that formed planets like ours.
“By studying the asteroid Psyche, we hope to gain a better understanding of our universe and our place in it, especially in relation to the “mysterious, accessible metallic core of our planet Earth.”
NASA also indicated that the asteroid could be something else. She said that the remaining piece was probably a completely different type of iron-rich material had formed from metal-rich material somewhere in the solar system.
What is Psyche’s intention?
This is NASA’s first attempt to study an asteroid that contains more minerals than rock and ice. The mission was launched by the spacecraft of the same name – the Psyche spacecraft – on October 13, 2023, from the Kennedy Space Center The Psyche spacecraft is now sailing through the space on its way to the metallic rock outer part of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is three times further from the Sun than Earth.
The distance from Earth to Psyche ranges from less than 186 million miles to more than 372 million miles, so it is believed that the spacecraft will take six years to reach its destination at the end of July 2029, and the spacecraft will begin its main mission in August.
The spacecraft will spend about two years orbiting the asteroid taking images, mapping the surface and collecting data to determine Psyche’s composition. “, said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator of Psyche. .
But it’s not really the finish line; This is the starting line for your next marathon. “Our spacecraft is on its way to rendezvous with our asteroid, and we will fill another gap in our knowledge – and color another type of world in our solar system.”
**1.** Given the potential scientific and economic value of Psyche 16, how should the international community best collaborate on its exploration and potential resource utilization?
Here are some open-ended questions focused on the key topics of the article, designed to encourage discussion and diverse viewpoints:
**Section 1: The Value of Psyche 16**
* **Beyond the estimated monetary value, how might the resources on Psyche 16 be valuable to humanity in the future?** (This encourages thinking about potential applications of rare metals beyond Earth’s economy)
* **If the technology existed, would it be ethical to mine Psyche 16 for its resources? Why or why not? What are the potential environmental and ethical implications of such a project?** (This opens a debate about resource utilization and space exploration ethics)
**Section 2: Psyche 16 as a Scientific Treasure**
* **How might studying Psyche 16 contribute to our understanding of the formation of Earth and other planets in our solar system?** (Prompts listeners to connect Psyche 16’s potential discoveries to broader scientific knowledge)
* **What are the biggest unknowns about Psyche 16, and what are the scientific tools and strategies that might be used to answer those questions?** (This encourages critical thinking about the limitations of current knowledge and future scientific approaches)
**Section 3: The Psyche Mission and its Implications**
* **What are the challenges and risks associated with a mission like Psyche, and how are these being addressed by NASA? **(This focuses on the practical aspects of space exploration)
* **How might the success or failure of the Psyche mission influence future space exploration endeavors? What lessons can be learned from this ambitious project?** (This encourages a discussion about the long-term impact of the Psyche mission on space exploration)
**Section 4: Philosophical Implications**
* **Psychologically, what does the discovery of an asteroid potentially worth more than all the money on Earth tell us about humanity’s relationship with wealth and resources?** (This probes the philosophical and societal implications of such a discovery)
* **If we were to find evidence of past life on Psyche 16, or confirmation that it was once part of a planet, how would that change our understanding of our place in the universe?** (This encourages a discussion about the larger existential questions raised by space exploration)
Remember to keep the conversation flowing by actively listening, acknowledging different perspectives, and posing follow-up questions that encourage further exploration of the topic.
