NASA Psych Mission – Sets to explore the “unknown world” with science

The voyage to the mysterious metal asteroid cycle, which seeks answers about the origin of the solar system, has been part of the space agency’s plan for many years, but now (beginning) has only a few months to work.

In August 2022, a probe will depart from the Kennedy Space Center in the United States, which will travel in space for four years until it reaches the orbit of one of the most mysterious celestial bodies already known. It is the largest M-type asteroid with a diameter of 226 km, located on the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The asteroid appears as a vague blur of what can be seen with Earth-based and space-based telescopes, but from radar data the psyche – the name NASA also used for its mission – is in the shape of a potato and turns sideways. .

By analyzing the light it reflects, researchers also believe that the asteroid is abnormally metallic, and that it formed at the beginning of the solar system, rather than the center of a planet – a part of a planet – or NASA, which never melted.

The mission of the American Space Agency is aimed at accurately tracing the origin of the soul and answering basic questions about the formation of the solar system.

“If it were part of a metal core, it would be part of the first generation of the first cores of our solar system,” says Lindy Elkins-Tandon, a researcher who led the Psych mission. “But we do not really know, we will not be sure of anything until we get there. We have many questions, we do not have many answers. This is a real study.

Choosing the scientific tools for the task is one of the biggest challenges because it is not initially clear what will be measured in particular. With this question in mind, the team decided to equip the study with multiple sources, i.e., a magnetometer to measure any magnetic field; Image generators for photographing and mapping the surface; And spectrometers measuring exposed gamma rays and neutrons to indicate what the surface is made of.

But for the tools to start working, they must first reach the target and enter orbit. Nine months after the launch of the Kennedy Space Center in August 2022, Psych will orbit Mars and orbit itself using the planet’s gravitational pull toward the asteroid. This is a journey of about 2.4 billion kilometers.

NASA explains that the spacecraft will begin its final approach to the asteroid by the end of 2025. As it approaches its target, the cameras will be activated, which will transform the current wide range of smudges into high definition images, revealing the surface properties of this strange world. For the first time.