By: Peter Adams, Sequoia Gem and Mineral Society
We’ve all heard about rocks in space. Maybe you’ve even got a piece of a meteorite — cool stuff, especially if you found it yourself. Even if you bought one? Still cool. But as it turns out, even NASA has trouble finding asteroids and figuring out exactly what they’re made of. One asteroid in particular is getting a lot of attention right now: Psyche.
NASA’s Psyche mission is focused on — you guessed it — an asteroid named Psyche. This space rock is hanging out about three times farther from the Sun than we are here on Earth. So what’s the big deal with this hunk of metal and rock?
Well, Psyche isn’t just any asteroid. It’s about 173 miles wide and 144 miles long. And like most space rocks, it’s not a perfect little sphere — it’s a lumpy, bumpy, cratered chunk of stuff floating through the void. So far, sounds like the usual asteroid story. But here’s where it gets interesting.
NASA’s been eyeing Psyche for a while. Based on remote observations, they think it’s made up mostly of metals and silicates — imagine glass fused with metal. Some estimates suggest it could be 30% to 60% metal. But what are the metals?
No matter how good your telescope is, there’s only so much you can learn from millions of miles away. So NASA’s sending a probe to check it out up close. If their estimates are right? Then we know our space-detective tech is seriously impressive. If they’re wrong? Still a win — we learn what to improve.
This mission is not just about knowing what Psyche is made of. This mission will be a proving ground for future asteroid missions — whether it’s landing gear on a small space rock or testing out the idea of mining asteroids. (Yes, that’s a real goal. One day we might be digging up rare elements out in deep space.)
So picture this: someday, you’re a rockhound in the Kuiper Belt, cruising between asteroids, looking for that one glittering gold nugget floating through space. It’s a wild thought. Probably won’t happen in my lifetime — but hey, it’s on the horizon.
We might even need to nudge a chunk of space rock into a different orbit.
Leavrite joke. A meteorite is great to find. A meteor – wrong is a waste of money to buy, but might still be a very nice rock to find.