April 26, 2024

NASA plans a mission to an asteroid containing $10,000 trillion of minerals

NASA plans a mission to an asteroid containing $10,000 trillion of minerals

NASA He is planning a mission to reach an asteroid orbiting our own Solar SystemIt can be a very profitable endeavor if successful.

In fact, the figure regarding the potential value of the precious metals that an asteroid could consist of is simply puzzling because it is believed to be more than 10,000 trillion dollars.

Well, if necessary, it is about 8,072 quadrillion pounds. Does this even help?

To put that into context, there are 22 zeros after it. When written it looks like this – 10,000,000,000,000,000.

He is worth enough to make every person on earth a billionaire. That’s a lot of money.

In any case, the asteroid in which this huge wealth of precious metals is hidden is called Psyche 16 and it was discovered already in March 1852.

This is a screenshot of Psyche 16. Image source: NASA

The 124-mile-wide space rock is set to become the main focus of a NASA mission scheduled to launch in August 2022.

If it continues, the spaceship will reach the asteroid in about four years because – you know – everything in space is so far away.

This will be the first mission that will send people to a place made of metal rather than rock and ice, NASA said, “Unlike most other asteroids, which are rocky or icy bodies, scientists believe that asteroid M (metallic) 16 Psyche is primarily composed of metallic iron such as Earth and nickel. .

Of course, the question arises of how to extract this value because it has been floating in space about four years away, but that is something NASA will likely want to investigate in this potential mission.

Therefore, the asteroid is located between Mars and Jupiter and is said to have been “a remnant of a protoplanet” that was destroyed in collisions during the formation of the solar system, “so daily Mail.

Artistic impression of a spaceship sent to Psyche 16. Credit: NASA

“The results are a step towards solving the mystery of the origin of this unusual object, which some believe is part of the core of an ominous protoplanet,” researchers said in a recent study.

Catherine de Clare, associate professor of planetary science and astronomy at Caltech, added: “We believe that the fragments of cores, coats, and crusts of these objects remain in the form of asteroids to this day.

“If true, it gives us our only real chance to directly examine the cores of planetary-like bodies.”

Plus, it might be worth an unimaginable amount, so it’s probably worth taking a closer look.