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Scheduled for launch in August, NASA’s upcoming JPL mission will mark a milestone in space exploration: The Psyche mission will be the first time the space agency has sent a probe into a world made mostly of metal, not rock and ice.
The mission target of the “mineral-rich asteroid, Psyche, has attracted the interest of scientists. They hope that by sending a spacecraft to get up close and personal with the asteroid, they can gather new information about the early days of the planet’s formation.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Psyche mission from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, and Arizona State University.
What is self?
Scientists believe that Earth and other terrestrial planets have solid metal cores in magma centers beneath their surfaces.
But because the mineral core lies deep beneath the mantle and crust of these planets, it is difficult to measure and study it directly.
Enter Psyche, an asteroid orbiting the solar system between Mars and Jupiter, which may actually have been the open core of an early planet.
Psyche is about 140 miles or 226 kilometers wide.
It was made of nickel and iron, along with some stones, according to NASA JPL mission websitethat separates it from the rocky and icy world, it is usually the target of NASA missions.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University This illustration by Peter Rubin shows the asteroid Psyche, which is 140 miles (226 kilometers) wide. NASA’s JPL sent a spacecraft to monitor the asteroid, and it will launch in August 2022.
Why did scientists send a spacecraft to the asteroid Psyche?
Scientists at NASA JPL, Caltech, and ASU are trying to get more information about the iron cores of terrestrial planets, something Scientists find it difficult to study for years.
By sending an investigation to Psyche, scientists hope to gather more information about how planets formed, as bits of rock, metal, and other debris swirled around the early universe before merging into the non-gaseous planets we can see today. this. this.
It is also the first metal object in space that NASA is trying to study, created by NASA interesting opportunity “To explore a new kind of world.”
When the Psyche probe reaches the asteroid, it will slowly orbit near Psyche’s surface, allowing the probe to collect data that scientists can study. This data is categorized into four different categories, which the probe will collect as it moves around Psyche at four different distances, called staging orbits.
The staging orbit allows NASA to observe and collect data on various aspects of asteroids, According to ASU. Information will range from the asteroid’s topography to its gravitational properties to the way various elements are distributed throughout the body.
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NASA/JPL-Caltech This illustration shows how NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will explore the asteroid Psyche, starting with Orbit A when it reaches the asteroid in early 2026. The initial orbit was designed to be about 435 miles (700 kilometers) above the asteroid’s surface. Over the next 20 months, the spacecraft will use its electric propulsion system to dive into lower and lower orbits while carrying out its scientific investigations.
By sending out the probe, the scientists hope to confirm their theory that Psyche was actually the core of the early planet and determine its age.
They can also examine the material that makes up Psyche and determine how close they are to their theory of the Earth’s core.
What probes did NASA send into the soul?
Spaceships share names with missions and the asteroids they want to visit.
Psyche’s spaceship has a body “slightly bigger than a smart car and as tall as the organization’s basketball hoop”, According to ASU. Complete with solar panels that will drive its movement, the size of a tennis court.
On board, will bring several scientific instruments for data collection, including:
- The multispectral imaging device, which takes pictures of the asteroid’s surface,
- a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, which will help determine what the asteroid is made of, and
- magnetometer, which will measure the asteroid’s magnetic field.
The spacecraft will also test a new method of communication – space optical communication – which aims to return more information to Earth within a set time.
DSOC technology “encodes data into photons”, bringing information closer to infrared wavelengths than longer radio waves. This will help the probe communicate with scientists on Earth from its position in space.
When is Psyche’s release date?
Currently, Psyche’s mission is within reach Spacecraft assembly and testing phase. Psyche is slated to actually launch on August 1, 2022.
The probe will use low solar electric propulsion to travel from Earth through the solar system in 3.5 years, and fly close to Mars in 2023 using the planet’s gravity to build more momentum toward the asteroid.
Arriving in 2026, the probe will spend the next 21 months mapping Psyche and “studying its properties” as it slowly orbits the space object.
The mission is scheduled to end in October 2027.
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