It’s only a matter of time before the race for resources in space begins, and apparently it’s a lot closer than many of us previously thought.
According to its website, NASA wants one as early as 2023 Send probe to asteroid »16 Psyche«, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt. It is 226 kilometers wide and is believed to be the most valuable known object in our solar system. The reason: it consists largely of iron, nickel and, above all, gold.
The dream of wealth
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the NASA mission’s principal investigator and director of the School of Earth and Space Exploration
calls the asteroid a “strange object” and hopes to find it to be able to bring it close to earth at some point
To give you an idea of how much that is, the value of the entire global economy is estimated at around $96 trillion. The raw materials in 16 Psyche are said to be more than 10 million times more valuable than the entire economy of our planet.
Let’s dream a round: If NASA were to mine all of the behemoth’s resources, it would create enough wealth to inject $1.3 billion into every person on Earth. Not that that would ever happen. Unfortunately.
The total cost of the mission is $450 million. A real bargain compared to the revenue that could potentially be generated!
It may not bring in trillions of dollars, but the James Webb Space Telescope delivers the most beautiful images from space – and thanks to musicians and researchers you can now hear them too:
more on the subject
The universe sometimes sounds soothing – and sometimes frightening
Not the first try
The Psyche mission was originally planned for 2019, but was repeatedly postponed due to technical difficulties or organizational problems. Last became the Start date canceled for this year, because software was finished too late and test equipment was missing. Now that these errors have been corrected, the 10. October 2023 as the launch date for the probe.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton is confident it will work this time. She is looking forward to learning about the asteroid, whose unique properties could also provide new insights into the Earth’s core. Because unlike most asteroids, 16 Psyche is not largely made of stone or ice, but iron, which is also true of the interior of our planet.
The Psyche mission is part of NASA’s Discovery program, which aims to test new technologies, such as robots on the surface of asteroids. In this case, NASA’s 16 spacecraft will orbit Psyche for 21 months to collect initial data.
The probe will be mainly equipped with three measuring devices to accomplish this mission:
- A magnetometer to measure the magnetic field of the asteroid
- A multispectral imaging sensor designed to photograph and analyze the asteroid
- A spectrometer that will analyze the neutrons and gamma rays emitted by 16 Psyche
The investigations will reveal how much the asteroid and its resources are actually worth. NASA has already tested whether humanity could save itself from an approaching asteroid. Here’s the article:
Could we deflect asteroids that are a threat to Earth? NASA figured it out
How do you feel about space exploration? Would you rather be on the lookout for scarce resources now or rather look for sustainable solutions? Or just both? Write us your opinion in the comments.