Would Asteroid 16 Psyche Make the World Rich?

 


Situated somewhere between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is this intriguing Asteroid which is now the primary target of NASA’s Psyche Mission.


What Is Asteroid 16 Psyche?

On March 17 1852, Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis discovered this Asteroid and named it after Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul.

Situated about 500 Million kilometres away from Earth it’s one of the most massive asteroids in the solar system, with the size that of Massachusetts.

Unlike other Asteroids, Psyche’s surface is heavy metal. Mostly consisting of Nickel and Iron.

Recent studies have found that this giant metallic asteroid could worth a $100,000 quadrillion, more than the entire economy of the earth.


What Is Known About Its Origin?

Planetesimals are a few thousand miniature bodies that are formed during the process of creation of our solar system.

So Psyche might have been one, and on the process of becoming a planet, its rocky crust got knocked off as a result of a series of collisions by other planetesimals. And only the core remained.


Why Is NASA Organising a Psyche Mission?


So, the core of our earth is believed to be composed of a solid Nickel-Iron centre. But studying it up that close is impossible as temperature at the core is 5000 degrees Celsius and the pressure is 3 million times higher than the surface.

So scientists had to choose various alternate ways. But now we may be able to study Earth’s inner space by visiting our outer space.

Remember the structure of Psyche? It has already lost its crust and what is left is an exposed metallic core. Doesn’t that make it an excellent opportunity for studying the Earth’s core?!

According to NASA, they have targeted to launch The Psyche Spacecraft in August 2022 which would arrive at the asteroid in early 2026, following a Mars gravity assist in 2023.


Will the Asteroid Really Benefit the Economy?

The Asteroid which is made up of mostly Iron and Nickel also contains several other rare materials like gold, platinum, cobalt, iridium and rhenium.

In reality the Asteroid cannot be brought to the Earth. NASA Psyche mission’s lead scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton said that “We cannot bring Psyche back to Earth. We have absolutely no technology to do that.”

But if was possible to transport it to Earth, Elkins-Tanton has calculated that the iron alone would be worth more than $10,000 quadrillion.


But How Practical Would That Be?

In his article Noah Smith says that:

“Yes, 16 Psyche and other asteroids will probably be mined for their metals. But once those metals start hitting the market in large quantities, they’re unlikely to be precious for much longer. As any introductory economics student knows, price is a function of relative scarcity — flood the market with gold, and it will go from being a rarity to being a common decoration. Supply goes up, price goes down.”


Written by - Afra Meera Ahamed

Edited by - Gunika Manchanda