NASA's Psyche probe will attempt to unlock the secrets of the early solar system

NASA has set its sights on a giant asteroid that could be formed from the frozen remnants of the molten core from a past world. Called Psyche, this asteroid orbits the Sun in the main asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter. Using data collected by ground-based radars and optical telescopes, scientists believe Psyche is largely made of metal. It could be part of the iron-rich interior of an early planetary block that was stripped of its outer rocky shell as it repeatedly collided with other large bodies during the early solar system formation.

The asteroid, however, could be also being the remaining piece of a completely different type of iron-rich body that formed from metal-rich material somewhere in the solar system. NASA's Psyche mission hopes to find out. Set for launch in August 2022, the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid from which it takes its name for two years, taking photos, mapping the surface and looking for evidence of an ancient magnetic field. Psyche will also study neutrons and gamma rays emanating from the asteroid's surface to help determine its elemental composition.

First mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that contains significant amounts of metal rather than rock or ice, Psyche will seek to better understand iron cores, an unexplored building block of planet formation. The mission also potentially provides the first opportunity to directly examine the interior of a rocky planet by offering a glimpse into a previously layered planetary body that could never otherwise be seen. What scientists learn could shed further light on how Earth and other rocky planets formed.