Year on Psyche Simulation – BYU – Idaho – E
INSTITUTION
Brigham Young University – Idaho (BYU – Idaho)
CLASS
Iridium Class (2024 – 2025)
STUDENT TEAM
ACADEMIC GUIDANCE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The NASA Psyche mission is an orbiter mission to the metal-rich asteroid, Psyche, in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft, which launched in October 2023 and will arrive at the asteroid in mid-2029, will study the asteroid from orbit and will not land on the surface. The asteroid Psyche has many unique characteristics, such as its hypothesized mixed metal composition and surface characteristics, its potato-like shape, its very short day, its very long year, and the fact that it rotates like a wheel or a rotisserie, rather than like a top, to name a few. In this project, the team will create an engaging visualization, simulation, or animation to help the public understand these interesting qualities and to demonstrate how they impact things like the days, seasons, and temperatures on Psyche’s surface.