In under 80 days, history will be made as NASA and SpaceX partner to launch a solar-powered spacecraft on a voyage that will span 2.5 billion miles. This unprecedented journey into the heart of our solar system will propel humanity further into the cosmos than ever before, to the main asteroid belt situated between Mars and Jupiter.
The purpose of this mission? To lay bare the mysteries of an enigmatic asteroid designated 16 Psyche.
The metallic composition of 16 Psyche, chiefly iron and nickel, has been the source of much speculation and excitement. Estimates peg the potential worth of the asteroid at an astronomical $10,000 quadrillion, a figure that could revolutionize economies and industries as we know them. But beyond the material riches lies an even more significant treasure: a unique opportunity for planetary scientists to study an iron core resembling that within the center of our own Earth. This mission will expand our understanding of these iron cores and may well unveil an entirely new class of metal worlds in the solar system.