WATCH | NASA launches Psyche spacecraft to explore metal-rich asteroid

NASA on Friday (Oct 13) launched its Psyche spacecraft from the US state of Florida and it is now en route to an asteroid of the same name that is said to be among some of the largest metal-richasteroids in our solar system.

The Psyche probe is placedinside the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The Psyche missionalso marks the first NASA launch on a rocket by Elon Musk’s SpaceXas well as the first interplanetary mission flown by the Falcon Heavy.

About the launch

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Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida the spacecraft, roughly the size of a small van, embarked on its 3.6 billion kilometre voyage through space. The Psyche mission lifted off at 10:19 am (local time) and will reach the asteroid in August 2029.

Less than five minutes after the launch, the cargo-faring panels enclosing the spacecraft inside the nose of the rocket’s upper stage were jettisoned and separated and returned to Earth, said NASA.

An hour or so after the launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket and the probe itself was released into space while the ground controllers waited for a signal.

Subsequently, the Psyche spacecraft commanded itself into a planned safe mode and established two-way communication at 11:50 am (local time) with NASA’s Deep Space Network complex in Canberra.

“Initial telemetry reports show the spacecraft is in good health,” said the American space agency in a statement.

The mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California also confirmed the detection of the probe’s first radio signals and will spend the next three to four months conducting checks of the spacecraft’s system before sending it off to its deep space journey.

The probe is being propelled by solar-electric ion thrusters and is being used for the first time on an interplanetary mission.

Why does NASA want to study Psyche?

As per the data obtained from Earth-based radar and optical telescopes, scientists concluded that the asteroid Psyche could be part of the metal-rich interior of a planetesimal, a building block of a rocky planet that never formed.

The rock might have collided with other large bodies during its early formation and lost its outer rocky shell.

The first asteroid of its kind chosen for the study orbits the Sun three times farther than Earth even at its closest to our planet is located in the outer part of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

The probe will study asteroid Psyche, which is said to be rich in iron, nickel, gold and other metals, with a collective hypothetical monetary value placed at $10 quadrillion, for 26 months.

“I am excited to see the treasure trove of science Psyche will unlock as NASA’s first mission to a metal world,” said Nicola Fox at NASA’s headquarters in Washington.

She added, “By studying asteroid Psyche, we hope to better understand our universe and our place in it, especially regarding the mysterious and impossible-to-reach metal core of our own home planet, Earth.”

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