NASA held a pre-launch press conference today to discuss the Psyche mission. NASA and SpaceX completed a launch readiness review on Tuesday, October 10, with the result that it is "clear" to launch the spacecraft that will study a metal-rich asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
However, NASA and SpaceX suspended the launch of the agency's Psyche mission on October 12 due to adverse weather conditions. Currently, NASA and SpaceX plan to launch from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:19 a.m. EST on Friday, October 13.
NASA's Psyche mission to a distant metallic asteroid will carry a revolutionary deep space optical communications (DSOC) software package. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
NASA Psyche mission overview
The Psyche mission is one of NASA's most ambitious projects and aims to deepen our understanding of planet formation processes by exploring a unique metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter.
Target:
Understanding the building blocks: One of the main goals of the Psyche mission is to gain insight into the early solar system and how planets like our Earth formed. Studying Psyche may give us insights into the violent collisions that created terrestrial planets, and how their cores and outer shells separated.
Metal World Exploration: Unlike most other icy or rocky asteroids, Psyche is made almost entirely of metals -- primarily iron and nickel. This makes it a unique target for exploration. In fact, it's thought Psyche may be the exposed core of an early planet that lost its rocky outer layers in a series of violent collisions.
Earth's core analogy: Since we can't directly explore Earth's core, studying Psyche may give us a window into the history of violent collisions and accretion that created terrestrial planets. It will give us a deeper understanding of the Earth's core, which remains one of the most mysterious parts of our planet.
Mission details:
Spacecraft: The Psyche spacecraft will be equipped with a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and a magnetometer. The imager will provide high-resolution images to help understand the asteroid's history by examining its surface. The spectrometer will detect, measure and map Psyche's elemental composition. The magnetometer will measure the asteroid's magnetic field.
The journey: The mission will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. After launch, the spacecraft will travel through the solar system for more than three years before arriving at the asteroid.
Duration: Once the Psyche spacecraft reaches the asteroid, it will remain in orbit for approximately 21 months, mapping and studying Psyche's properties.
At its core, the Psyche mission is about more than just exploring an asteroid -- it's about delving deeper into the mysteries of the birth of our solar system, learning more about the secrets of our planet's interior, and answering fundamental questions about what planetary bodies are made of.