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16 Psyche (/ ˈ s aɪ k iː / SY-kee) is a large M-type asteroid, which was discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, on 17 March 1852 and named after the Greek goddess Psyche. [10] The prefix "16" signifies that it was the sixteenth minor planet in order of discovery.
Asteroid 16 Psyche is the heaviest known M-type asteroid, and may be an exposed iron core of a protoplanet, the remnant of a violent collision with another object that stripped off its mantle and crust. On January 4, 2017, the Psyche mission was selected for NASA's Discovery #14 mission. [9] [10]
With approximately as much iron as the world produces in 100,000 years, 16 Psyche is one such asteroid worth approximately $10 quintillion in metallic iron and nickel. [7] NASA is planning a mission for October 10, 2023 for the Psyche orbiter to launch and get to the asteroid by August 2029 to study.
NASA launched the Psyche spacecraft on 13 October 2023, an orbiter mission that will explore the origin of planetary cores by studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche, on a Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. On November 1, NASA's Lucy probe performed a flyby of asteroid 152830 Dinkinesh, revealing it to be a binary pair. [3] [4]
0–9. 16 Psyche; 21 Lutetia; 22 Kalliope; 55 Pandora; 69 Hesperia; 75 Eurydike; 97 Klotho; 110 Lydia; 125 Liberatrix; 129 Antigone; 132 Aethra; 135 Hertha; 136 Austria
The numbered-circle convention was quickly adopted by astronomers, and the next asteroid to be discovered (16 Psyche, in 1852) was the first to be designated in that way at the time of its discovery. However, Psyche was given an iconic symbol as well, as were a few other asteroids discovered over the next few years.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton is an American planetary scientist and professor [1] whose research concerns terrestrial planetary evolution. She is the Principal Investigator of NASA's Psyche mission to explore the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche, Arizona State University Vice President of the Interplanetary Initiative, and co-founder of Beagle Learning, a tech company training and measuring collaborative ...
Scientists wonder whether this asteroid, named 16 Psyche, could be an exposed core of an early planet, once possibly as large as Mars, that lost its rocky outer layers after countless collisions ...