[Reading Science] '1000 Gyeong Dollar' Treasure Asteroid Exploration Finally Begins

NASA to Launch Psyche Probe on October 5
Mission to Explore Metal Asteroid 16 Psyche Between Mars and Jupiter
First Ever Metal Asteroid Exploration
Focus on Assessing Potential for Asteroid Mining Operations

Is the '16 Psyche' asteroid really the rumored treasure worth $1,000 quadrillion? Humanity's first exploration of a metallic asteroid will finally begin this October. It is attracting worldwide attention as it offers the possibility of asteroid mining, considered one of the future alternatives for human survival.

Asteroid 16 Psyche and NASA's Psyche spacecraft. Photo by NASA website

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch the Psyche asteroid probe on October 5 at 10:38 a.m. Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, using SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. Originally scheduled for launch in August last year, the mission was delayed by about 1 year and 4 months due to production delays and budget shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This project is part of NASA's Discovery program, which explores interesting celestial bodies within the solar system with a modest budget of $3 to $5 million in pure production costs (excluding launch and operation costs). Psyche was selected in 2015 along with other celestial bodies. The mission is led by Arizona State University and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Virtual image of asteroid 16 Psyche. Photo by NASA website

What is the '16 Psyche' asteroid?

'16 Psyche' is an asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis. Its name comes from the 'goddess of the soul' who appears as the wife of Eros in Greek mythology. Astronomers have taken an interest in this asteroid because observations using ground-based radio telescopes indicate that it is mostly composed of metal. It contains iron, nickel, gold, platinum, and tungsten, and its mining value is estimated to be between $10 quadrillion and $1,000 quadrillion (about 100 trillion Korean won). This is believed to be because, after colliding with other celestial bodies early in its formation and scattering, only the metallic core at its center remained. It has a diameter of about 226 km and a surface area of approximately 165,800 km², roughly the size of the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

Four-stage orbit of the Psyche asteroid for mission execution. Image source=NASA website

What is the mission of the probe?

The probe will depart from Earth and travel along a trajectory that loops widely around the Sun, passing Mars, to reach Psyche. Using gravitational assists, it will adjust its trajectory in four stages to enter Psyche's orbit. From August 2029, it will orbit Psyche for 26 months, conducting missions such as imaging and compositional analysis. The probe is about the size of a tennis court due to its large cross-shaped solar panels (length 24.756 m, width 7.34 m). It weighs approximately 2.6 tons, and the main body (length 3.1 m, width 2.4 m) is slightly larger than a small cargo truck and as tall as a basketball hoop. It is equipped with instruments including a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, multispectral imaging devices, a magnetometer, and an X-band radio communication system. It also carries an advanced laser communication system called the 'Deep Space Optical Communication,' which can transmit large amounts of data between Earth and the probe much faster than conventional radio communication. Propulsion is provided by an electric propulsion system powered by solar energy.

Psyche spacecraft. Photo by NASA website

Meanwhile, NASA accepted applications from private digital content creators for coverage from the 22nd to the 28th of last month and selected 35 individuals to provide opportunities for on-site launch coverage, expert interviews, and site tours.