NASA has just spectacularly brought a sample from the asteroid Bennu to Earth. The next probe is now heading off to an asteroid – which also promises exciting findings: The NASA space probe “Psyche” has launched towards a metal-rich asteroid of the same name.
On board a “Falcon Heavy” rocket from Elon Musk’s private space company SpaceX The probe lifted off from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida on Friday (local time). According to initial data, everything went as planned and the probe was in good condition, according to the US space agency NASA. The start had previously been postponed by a day due to bad weather. NASA boss Bill Nelson now spoke of a “successful launch”.
By studying the asteroid ‘Psyche’, we hope to better understand our universe and our place in it.
Nicholas FoxNASA manager
She is curious to find out which one “Treasure trove of scientific research” will bring the “first NASA mission into a metal world,” said NASA manager Nicola Fox. “By studying the asteroid Psyche, we hope to better understand our universe and our place in it – particularly with regard to the mysterious and unreachable metal core of our own home planet Earth.”
The probe “Psyche” originally had which, with its solar sails spread out, is about the size of a tennis court, should start as early as 2022. But that didn’t work because of computer problems. “Psyche” has to travel around 3.5 billion kilometers to reach the asteroid, which is why the probe cannot get there until 2029 at the earliest.
The potato-shaped asteroid “Psyche” with a diameter of around 279 kilometers orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. It has a surface area of 165,800 square kilometers, that is almost half the size of Germany.
According to initial findings, “Psyche” contains a lot of metals. The probe will spend around 26 months studying its composition, giving scientists a better insight into the formation of asteroids, planets and our solar system.
NASA is currently doing a lot of research on asteroids: With the “Dart” mission Last year, the US space agency let a probe hit an asteroid – changing its orbit.
The “Osiris Rex” mission sent a probe to the asteroid Bennu, which dropped a sample of rubble onto the earth a few weeks ago. According to initial studies, this contains traces of water and carbon. The probe is now on its way to the next asteroid – Apophis.
After the successful launch of “Psyche”, boss Nelson spoke of an “Asteroid Autumn” by NASA. (dpa)