Leave it to the Daily Mail to give us the headline of the week. Space, Economic Collapse and the biggest Dollar Amount in a Headline EVER: all in one story. But it is a good read - Soren K. Group
NASA brings forward mission to explore a $10,000 quadrillion metal asteroid that could cause the world's economy to COLLAPSE
- 16 Psyche is a huge chunk of metal, made up of iron, nickel and precious metals
- On Earth, the iron would be worth £8,072 quadrillion ($10,000 quadrillion)
- Nasa has brought the mission launch forward to 2022 and it will arrive in 2026
- If brought back to Earth, its value would play havoc with commodity prices
via Mark Prigg For Dailymail.com
It may be 230 million miles (370 million km) away from Earth, but this asteroid could be worth a fortune.
16 Psyche is one of the most mysterious objects in our solar system, and scientists could soon be getting a close-up view thanks to a NASA mission.
The space agency today revealed its plan to launch the mission to visit the asteroid a year earlier than planned, in 2022, and arrive four years earlier than planned in 2026.
The space agency today revealed its plan to launch the mission to visit the asteroid a year earlier than planned, in 2022, and arrive four years earlier than planned in 2026.
WHY IS IT WORTH SO MUCH?
Dr Elkins-Tanton has calculated that the iron in 16 Psyche alone, would be worth $10,000 quadrillion (£8,072 quadrillion).
Assuming the market for asteroid materials is on Earth, this could cause the value of precious metals to plummet, completely devaluing all holdings including those of governments, and all companies involved in mining, distributing and trading such commodities.
Ultimately, it could lead to the collapse of the entire economy.
Speaking to Global News Canada, Dr Elkins-Tanton said: 'Even if we could grab a big metal piece and drag it back here … what would you do?
'Could you kind of sit on it and hide it and control the global resource — kind of like diamonds are controlled corporately — and protect your market?
'What if you decided you were going to bring it back and you were just going to solve the metal resource problems of humankind for all time? This is wild speculation obviously.'
If the asteroid could be transported back to Earth, the iron alone would be worth $10,000 quadrillion (£8,072 quadrillion).
It's value would be large enough to destroy commodity prices and cause the world's economy - worth $73.7 trillion (£59.5 trillion) – to collapse.
16 Psyche is located in the large asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and may have started as a planet, before it was partially destroyed during the formation of the solar system.
Now, it is a 130 mile (200km) wide chunk of metal, made up of iron, nickel and a number of other rare metals, including gold, platinum and copper.
'We challenged the mission design team to explore if an earlier launch date could provide a more efficient trajectory to the asteroid Psyche, and they came through in a big way,' said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
'This will enable us to fulfill our science objectives sooner and at a reduced cost.'
'The biggest advantage is the excellent trajectory, which gets us there about twice as fast and is more cost effective,' said Principal Investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University in Tempe.
'We are all extremely excited that NASA was able to accommodate this earlier launch date.
'The world will see this amazing metal world so much sooner.'
The revised trajectory is more efficient, as it eliminates the need for an Earth gravity assist, which ultimately shortens the cruise time.
If the asteroid could be transported back to Earth, the iron alone would be worth $10,000 quadrillion (£8,072 quadrillion)
In addition, the new trajectory stays farther from the sun, reducing the amount of heat protection needed for the spacecraft.
The trajectory will still include a Mars gravity assist in 2023.
'The change in plans is a great boost for the team and the mission,' said Psyche Project Manager Henry Stone at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
'Our mission design team did a fantastic job coming up with this ideal launch opportunity.'
THE METAL WORLD OF 16 PSYCHE
- 16 Psyche is located in the large asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and may have started as a planet, before it was partially destroyed during the formation of the solar system.
- Now, it is a 130 mile (200km) wide chunk of metal, made up of iron, nickel and a number of other rare metals, including gold, platinum and copper.
- As such, it offers a unique look into the violent collisions that created Earth and the terrestrial planets.
- The mission team seeks to determine whether Psyche is the core of an early planet, how old it is, whether it formed in similar ways to Earth's core, and what its surface is like.
- The spacecraft's instrument payload will include magnetometers, multispectral imagers, and a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer.
16 Psyche is located in the large asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
Much like a sports car, by combining a relatively small spacecraft body with a very high-power solar array design, the Psyche spacecraft will speed to its destination at a faster pace than is typical for a larger spacecraft.
The scientific goals of the Psyche mission are to understand the building blocks of planet formation and explore firsthand a wholly new and unexplored type of world.
The mission team seeks to determine whether Psyche is the core of an early planet, how old it is, whether it formed in similar ways to Earth's core, and what its surface is like.
The spacecraft's instrument payload will include magnetometers, multispectral imagers, and a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton the lead scientist on the Nasa mission and the director of Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration, said: '16 Psyche is the only known object of its kind in the solar system, and this is the only way humans will ever visit a core.
'We learn about inner space by visiting outer space.'
Dr Elkins-Tanton has calculated that the iron in 16 Psyche alone, would be worth $10,000 quadrillion (£8,072 quadrillion).
Assuming the market for asteroid materials is on Earth, this could cause the value of precious metals to plummet, completely devaluing all holdings including those of Governments, and all companies involved in mining, distributing and trading such commodities.
Ultimately, it could lead to the collapse of the entire economy.
Speaking to Global News Canada, Dr Elkins-Tanton said: 'Even if we could grab a big metal piece and drag it back here, what would you do?
'Could you kind of sit on it and hide it and control the global resource - kind of like diamonds are controlled corporately - and protect your market?
'What if you decided you were going to bring it back and you were just going to solve the metal resource problems of humankind for all time? This is wild speculation obviously.'
Nasa does not plan to bring the asteroid back to Earth, but instead, the space agency will explore the asteroid in the hope of understanding how planets separated into layers in their early histories.
NASA announces two new discovery missions to study asteroids
The mission is targeted to launch in October 2023, arriving at the asteroid in 2030, following a Mars flyby in 2025 (artist's impression)
The mission is targeted to launch in October 2023, arriving at the asteroid in 2030, following a Mars flyby in 2025.
Dr Elkins-Tanton said: 'Short of it being the Death Star, one other possibility is that its material formed very near the (sun) early in the solar system.'
Dr Elkins-Tanton believes that this extreme heat would have melted the iron, and the asteroid could have stayed in that primordial state until now.
She added: 'I figure we're either going to go see something that's really improbable and unique, or something that is completely astonishing.'
In December, researchers also put forward the suggestion that Psyche could contain water, which could make it a 'resource stopover' as humans try to colonise Mars.
Dr Elkins-Tanton said: 'That water can be used to make rocket fuel or be drunk by people, so then we'd have a resource stop that has metal and water.'In December, researchers also put forward the suggestion that Psyche could contain water, which could make it a 'resource stopover' as humans try to colonise Mars (artist's impression)
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