For the first time, a NASA mission is preparing to travel to an object made not of rock, ice or gas, but of metal: the asteroid Psyche.
See also: NASA – OSIRIS-REx: What does the sample from the asteroid Bennu reveal?
By studying this unusual space anomaly, scientists hope to learn more about the inner cores of rocky planets like our own, or even map a potentially unknown class of cosmic bodies.
The Psyche mission will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, but to complete the 2.2 billion-mile journey, it will turn to a much more efficient form of propulsion. Psyche’s solar panels convert light into electricity, providing the power for its four electric, or “Hall-effect,” motors. These motors use electromagnetic fields to accelerate and eject ions (charged atoms) of Xenos, the same inert gas used in headlights and plasma televisions.
While the resulting blue glow is reminiscent of Star Trek, it's not a hypersonic propulsion system: the actual force exerted at any given moment is roughly equal to the weight of a AA battery pack in the palm of your hand. In the vacuum of space, the probe will accelerate continuously, reaching tens of thousands of miles per hour.
As deep space missions require ever higher data transfer speeds, NASA is turning to laser- based systems to complement radio frequency-based communications.
See also: NASA: Brought 250 grams of dust from the asteroid Bennu to Earth
A technology experiment will be on board Psyche to demonstrate a “10-fold increase in traditional telecommunications data rates,” as Abi Biswas of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory put it – allowing for the transmission of higher-resolution images, more scientific data and moving video.
NASA will launch its laser from a JPL facility on Table Mountain in California, with the spacecraft sending its signal back to Caltech's Palomar Observatory. They hope the technology will be used in future human missions to Mars
As for Psyche, because of its brightness, it was until recently thought to be composed almost entirely of metal. The prevailing theory was that it was an exposed planetary core, whose rocky crust and mantle were torn away in an ancient collision. However, the way it exerts gravity on neighboring bodies suggests that it is less dense than an iron body should be, according to a 2022 study by researchers at Brown University.
One possibility they present is that volcanic eruptions that unfolded outside Psyche's core transported metal to its surface, essentially forming a structure similar to a metal sandwich on top of a rocky mantle.
However, we won't know this until 2029, when the Psyche spacecraft reaches its destination.
See also: NASA published a report on aliens
For those interested, coverage of the launch begins at 4:15 Greek time.
Source: sciencealert
