NASA will eventually launch its mission to
asteroid 16 Psyche
later this year after experiencing a false start the previous year.
Originally slated for September 2022, the
Psyche mission
was
postponed
because to "development problems." Shortly after, a review panel that was
independently established provided detailed recommendations to NASA in order
to send the Psyche mission on its way to the unusual asteroid. According to
a
statement
released on Monday, the space agency, its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),
and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have apparently
addressed all the recommendations and achieved remarkable progress on the
project.
According to a study released on
May 30, "the independent review board is extraordinarily impressed by the
accomplishments of the entire JPL organization and Caltech."
Between October 5 and October 25, Psyche is anticipated to leave the
Kennedy Space Center's launch pad. Before receiving a gravity assist from
Mars in 2026 to aid it along the next leg of the voyage, the spacecraft will
soar into the stratosphere aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. In August
2029, it's anticipated to touch down at the asteroid.
Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis made the discovery of Psyche in
1852, giving it the name of the Greek goddess of the soul. It is believed
that the enormous M-type asteroid is a tiny planet that failed to completely
form during the early stages of the solar system.
According to
some experts, the Psyche is nearly completely composed of iron and nickel, making it
potentially
valuable up to $10,000 quadrillion. (For reference, as of this writing, the value of the total world economy
is about $110 trillion.) According to
additional studies, the asteroid may not be as metallic or dense as previously believed. The
argument about Pysche's composition should be finally put to rest thanks to
NASA's impending expedition. In order to learn more about planetary
formation and give us a better knowledge of the innards of terrestrial
planets like Earth, the Psyche spacecraft will also orbit the asteroid for
26 months.
Final testing of the spacecraft will now take place in anticipation of the
launch in October.
