(Courtesy of Maxar/ASU/P. Rubin/NASA/JPL-Caltech)
A new study published Monday in The Planetary Science Journal shed new light on a huge, 140-mile-wide rare, highly metallic asteroid 230 million miles away from Earth in the solar system's main asteroid belt, according to CBS News.
While most asteroids are made of rocks or ice, the asteroid studied, 16 Psyche, appears to be made entirely of iron and nickel, which suggests it may have been the core of a planet that was forming before a collision cost it its mantle and crust.
Dr. Tracy Becker, one of the authors of the study, said in a news release, "We’ve seen meteorites that are mostly metal, but Psyche could be unique in that it might be an asteroid that is totally made of iron and nickel. Earth has a metal core, a mantle and crust. It’s possible that as a Psyche protoplanet was forming, it was struck by another object in our solar system and lost its mantle and crust."
She added, "What makes Psyche and the other asteroids so interesting is that they’re considered to be the building blocks of the solar system. To understand what really makes up a planet and to potentially see the inside of a planet is fascinating. Once we get to Psyche, we’re really going to understand if that’s the case, even if it doesn’t turn out as we expect. Any time there’s a surprise, it’s always exciting.”
Becker’s study comes as NASA prepares to launch the spacecraft Psyche, which is set to launch in 2022 to travel to the asteroid. Scientists hope to study the asteroid to learn about the origins of planetary cores. The spacecraft is expected to reach the asteroid in January 2026.
According to CBS News, the mission's team leader estimated that the iron alone in the asteroid was worth $10 quintillion, a 10 with 18 zeroes, or one million trillion, but scientists don't plan to attempt to return any materials to Earth for their monetary value.
Carol Polanskey, a project scientist for the Psyche mission, told CBS News in 2017, "We're going to learn about planetary formation, but we are not going to be trying to bring any of this material back and using it for industry."