As NASA set to do a first, know why Asteroid Psyche mission is so important
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NASA is planning a mission to the asteroid Psyche. It was scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on October 5, 2023, but has been delayed by a week.
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The Psyche mission launch has been delayed due to further inspections and verification of the spacecraft.
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As reported by NASA, the Falcon Heavy launch of the Psyche mission will now be conducted on October 12, 2023, at 10:16 a.m. EDT.
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The question that comes to mind is that there are millions of asteroids in our solar system, then why is NASA particularly interested Asteroid Psyche?
Well, one of the biggest reasons that makes Asteroid Psyche of particular interest to scientists is because it is rich in metals.
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According to NASA, Psyche asteroid has a nickel-iron core that was an essential component in creating our solar system.
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In fact, NASA is set to do a first as Asteroid Psyche will be the first metal object that humanity has ever visited.
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Psyche asteroid is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists believe Psyche could be part of the metal-rich interior of a planetesimal and it could be a building block of the rocky planets in our solar system, just like Earth.
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The NASA mission to Psyche aims to help us understand the formation of planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
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NASA informed that launch of the Psyche mission can happen between October 12 and October 25, after all the requirements for a successful launch are checked.