Regions of Iron-Nickel Metal and Olivine: Psyche Asteroid Illustration
This illustration depicts the 140-mile-wide (226-kilometer-wide) asteroid Psyche, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is the focal point of NASA’s mission of the same name.
Based on data obtained from Earth, scientists believe Psyche is a mixture of metal and rock. This illustration shows a few features the asteroid might have; we will not know what the asteroid really looks like until we arrive. In this conception, the surface is made of regions of grey iron-nickel metal and green patches of the mineral olivine. Olivine is known to form in cooling asteroids in the rock above the central metal core, so perhaps some olivine will still be visible on the asteroid Psyche today. Once the spacecraft reaches the asteroid, we will find out whether our hypotheses are right, and work on solving the question of how the asteroid formed. Observing and measuring how the metal and rock are mixed will help scientists determine how Psyche formed.
Exploring the asteroid could also give valuable insight into how our own planet and others formed. The Psyche team will use a magnetometer to measure the asteroid’s magnetic field. A multispectral imager will capture images of the surface, as well as data about Psyche’s composition and topography. Spectrometers will analyze the neutrons and gamma rays coming from the surface to reveal the elements that make up the asteroid itself.
The illustration was created by Peter Rubin.
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