The launch of an exciting mission that will confirm whether a near-Mars asteroid is worth an unimaginable amount of money is now just two months away.
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has attached its two jumbo solar arrays as engineers put the finishing touches ahead of its target launch date of Oct. 5.
The orbiter is going to investigate an asteroid called 16 Psyche that scientists believe is there brimming with precious metals worth more than $10,000 quadrillion (£8,072 quadrillion).
Others dispute this, saying it’s just hard rock, but NASA should be able to tell anyway when its Psyche spacecraft will arrive at the asteroid in July 2029.
Engineers in California are preparing the orbiter for a 2.5 billion-mile journey to 16 Psyche, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Stretching: NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has attached its two jumbo solar arrays as engineers put the finishing touches ahead of its target launch date of Oct. 5
Gold mine? The orbiter will explore an asteroid called 16 Psyche (pictured), which experts believe is full of precious metals worth more than $10,000 trillion
After passing a deployment test, Psyche’s twin solar array wings were once again stowed and remain tucked away on the sides of the orbiter until the spacecraft departs Earth.
At 75 square meters, the five-panel cruciform solar panels are the largest ever deployed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
With the arrays deployed in flight, the spacecraft will be about the size of a tennis court.
While they will produce more than 20 kilowatts of power when the spacecraft is near Earth, the solar arrays are primarily designed to operate in low-light conditions in deep space.
The asteroid Psyche is so far from the sun that even these huge arrays at that distance will generate just over 2 kilowatts of power, which is only slightly more power than a hair dryer uses.
Psyche will fly back into space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, scheduled to lift off from Pad 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 10:38 AM ET (3:38 PM BST) on October 5.
NASA hopes that scientists can not only determine how metal-rich the object is, but also learn more about planetary nuclei and how planets form.
The US space agency recently completed a test campaign of the probe’s flight software and installed it on the spacecraft, removing the hurdle that kept Psyche from meeting its original launch date of 2022.
“The team and I are now counting down the days until launch,” Psyche’s project manager Henry Stone said last month.
Our focus has shifted to safely completing the final mechanical shutdown of the spacecraft and preparing the team for operations.
“The team is conducting numerous training activities to ensure we are prepared and ready.
“It’s a very busy time, but everyone is very excited and looking forward to the launch.”
Once it has escaped Earth’s gravity, the spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to complete its six-year journey to the eponymous asteroid Psyche.
Scientists believe the space rock, which measures about 170 miles (279 kilometers) at its widest point, may be part of a planetesimal core — the building block of an early planet.
It could also provide a unique opportunity to study how planets like our own Earth formed.
Hard at work: Engineers prepare the orbiter for a 4 billion kilometer journey to 16 Psyche, which is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
The countdown has begun: Psyche will head back into space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket that will lift off from Pad 39A at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on October 5
Scientists believe that rocky planets have dense metallic cores in the center of the magma below their surfaces, but because these lie so far beneath the mantle and crust of such worlds, they are difficult to measure and study directly.
Once NASA’s orbiter 16 reaches Psyche, it will remain in orbit around the asteroid for at least 26 months.
While there, the spacecraft will take numerous pictures and collect data that will tell scientists more about its history and what it is made of.
They hope the information includes the asteroid’s topography, its gravitational properties and the way various elements are distributed throughout the object.
If 16 Psyche is indeed full of precious metals, it could be worth a huge amount of money, according to Dr. Linda Elkins-Tanton, a space scientist at MIT.
She has calculated that the iron in 16 Psyche alone would be worth $10,000 quadrillion (£8,072 quadrillion).
Assuming the market for asteroid materials is on Earth, this could cause the value of precious metals to plummet, completely destroying all assets, including those of governments, and all companies involved in mining, distributing and trading such raw materials. be devalued.
Testing: NASA recently completed a test campaign of the flight software and installed it on the spacecraft, removing the hurdle that kept Psyche from meeting its original launch date of 2022
What it will look like: Once NASA’s orbiter 16 reaches Psyche, it will spend at least 26 months orbiting the asteroid (pictured in an artist’s impression) collecting photos and data
Ultimately, it can lead to the collapse of the entire economy.
Speaking to Global News Canada, Dr. Elkins-Tanton said, “Even if we could take a large piece of metal and drag it back here… what would you do?
“Could you sit on it and hide it and control the global resource — kind of like diamonds are collectively controlled — and protect your market?
“What if you decided that you would bring it back and you would solve humanity’s metal resource problems forever? This is, of course, wild speculation.’
The Psyche spacecraft has been described by engineers as “slightly bigger than a Smart Car and about the size of a regulation basketball hoop,” while if you count the solar panels that power its movement, it’s about the size of a tennis court. .
The mission has been in the phase known as assembly, test and launch operations since March 2021.
Luis Dominguez, the systems and electrical lead for assembly, test and launch operations, said of the preparations: ‘We are moving forward and we are very confident that when we are on the pad we will be ready to press the button. to press .
“For all of us, we’ll be excited to launch this bird.”