NASA launched a mission this Friday to the distant asteroid Psyche, a previously unstudied world made of metal that scientists believe could be the core of an ancient celestial body.

The Psiche probe took off as scheduled at 10:19 a.m. local time (2:19 p.m. GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Scientists will study this strange object to improve their knowledge about the core of rocky planets like ours, or to identify a new type of completely unknown celestial body.

These are the five most interesting aspects of the mission.

1. Metal mine

If mining on Psyche were possible, the iron, nickel and gold would be worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000, according to an estimate by Forbes magazine.

For Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the mission’s lead scientist who performed the calculation, it’s nothing more than “a fun intellectual exercise.”

“We as a species do not have the technology to bring Psyche to Earth,” he explained at a recent press conference. And even if it were possible, the amount of metal would flood the market, reducing its value to zero, he said.

2. Green propulsion

For the long journey, the probe will use four Hall effect thrusters, which produce a characteristic blue light.

Psyche’s solar panels convert light into electricity, providing power for the four thrusters. These use electromagnetic fields to accelerate and expel xenon ions (charged atoms), the same gas used in car headlights and plasma screens.

The resulting blue glow is reminiscent of Star Trek, but the actual power is relatively weak. Nevertheless, in the vacuum of space, the probe will continuously accelerate to tens of thousands of kilometers per hour.

“It is the ecological propulsion par excellence,” summarized David Oh, a NASA engineer.

3. Laser communication

As space missions require increasingly higher data rates, NASA is turning to laser-based systems to complement radio frequency communications.

Psyche will conduct a technology experiment that will multiply the data rates of traditional telecommunications by “10,” says Abi Biswas of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

This allows higher resolution images, more scientific data and videos to be transmitted.

NASA will fire its laser from the JPL Observatory on Table Mountain in California, and the spacecraft will return the signal to the Palomar Observatory, also in California.

The technology has already been tested, but it will be the first time that it has been applied at longer distances, beyond the orbit of the moon. The idea is to be able to use it for missions to Mars in the future.

4. Gravitational field

Psyche has a suite of scientific instruments designed to examine the asteroid’s chemical and mineral composition and look for signs of an ancient magnetic field.

But the science team will also use Psyche’s ancient radio system to probe the asteroid’s gravitational field using the Doppler effect.

“We can look at the pitch or frequency of the radio waves coming out of the antenna and determine the speed at which the spacecraft is moving around the asteroid,” says planetology expert Ben Weiss. Something like the sound of ambulance sirens that resonate differently as they approach or drive away.

By monitoring changes in the probe’s speed, scientists can determine variations in the asteroid’s gravitational field, which in turn provides clues about Psyche’s composition and structure.

5. Less metal, more rock?

Because of Psyche’s brightness, the asteroid was until recently believed to be almost entirely made of metal, with the theory being that it was the core of an ancient celestial body whose surface had been torn off by collisions in ancient times.

But researchers found in a study published in 2022 that Psyche is less dense than would be expected in a body made of iron.

It is possible that volcanoes brought iron to the surface and covered the rock with a layer of metal.

If all goes according to plan, the ship will reach the Martian environment in May 2026 and from there, with the support of the red planet’s gravity, it will continue towards the asteroid Psyche, where it will arrive in August 2029. (JO)