Water on an asteroid? Scientists find hydration evidence on asteroid Psyche

A rare-heard discovery of evidence of hydrations has been made on asteroid Psyche using the data collected by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

In the study carried out by the Southwest Research Institute-led team, the presence of hydroxyl molecules was confirmed on the metallic asteroid Psyche's surface.

The existence of the hydrated minerals has shifted the spotlight on the history of the asteroid which has been orbiting the sun between planets Mars and Jupiter.

Asteroid Psyche, which is 140 miles in diameter, is one of the biggest space rocks in the main asteroid belt.

It is a dense and mostly metallic celestial object which is suspected to be the leftover core of some planet that may have gone through a catastrophic collision.

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The Psyche spacecraft was launched by NASA on October 13, 2023, and will cover 2.2 billion miles and reach the asteroid in August 2029.

Planetary Science Journal paper's second author Dr Tracy Becker said, "Using telescopes at different wavelengths of infrared light, the SwRI-led research will provide different but complementary information to what the Psyche spacecraft is designed to study."

"Our understanding of solar system evolution is closely tied to interpretations of asteroid composition, particularly the M-class asteroids that contain higher concentrations of metal," said Dr. Stephanie Jarmak, the lead author of the study.

"These asteroids were initially thought to be the exposed cores of differentiated planetesimals, a hypothesis based on their spectral similarity to iron meteorites," she added.

James Webb hints at presence of water on surface of asteroid Psyche

The data collected by the James Webb telescope points to the presence of hydroxyl on the surface of Psyche and also hints at the existence of water.

The hydrated minerals can come from external sources, which include impactors.

Watch:NASA finds oceans of water on Mars, deep in Martian crust

However, if hydration is native to the asteroid then it will have a different evolutionary history in comparison to what current models suggest.

"Asteroids are leftovers from the planetary formation process, so their compositions vary depending on where they formed in thesolar nebula," said co-author Dr. Anicia Arredondo

"Hydration that is endogenous could suggest that Psyche is not the remnant core of a protoplanet. Instead, it could suggest that Psyche originated beyond the 'snow line,' the minimum distance from the sun where protoplanetary disk temperatures are low enough for volatile compounds to condense into solids, before migrating to the outer main belt," she added.

(With inputs from agencies)