NASA will launch a spacecraft Friday toward a metallic asteroid in hopes of finding diamonds and rubies.
The mysterious metallic asteroid, known as 16 Psyche, lies between Mars and Jupiter and will take seven years for the spacecraft to reach the potentially lucrative rock.
“I hope we can find diamonds and rubies on that asteroid.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a news conference..
The Falcon Heavy spacecraft, made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was originally scheduled to launch today but was postponed until Friday due to “unfavorable weather conditions,” NASA said.
It will lift off on its 4 billion mile journey on Friday at 10:19 a.m. from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When it re-enters Earth, it will land in Utah, according to Nelson.
By May 2026, the spacecraft will fly over Mars and use the planet’s gravity to launch itself toward the asteroid, according to The Telegraph.
NASA will launch a spacecraft Friday toward a metallic asteroid in hopes of finding diamonds and rubies. Bill Nelson, /X “I hope we can find diamonds and rubies on that asteroid,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a news conference. Bill Nelson, /X Scientists speculate that the rock lost its outer layer after several violent collisions billions of years ago, according to The Telegraph. Bill Nelson, /X
It is expected to reach the rock in 2030, where it will spend 26 months in orbit to collect images and record topography.
The potato-shaped asteroid was first discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis. The asteroid is special because it is “rich in metals,” NASA scientists said, and could be the “core of an early planetesimal.”
Scientists speculate that the rock lost its outer layer after several violent collisions billions of years ago, according to The Telegraph.
It will be the first metallic object humanity has ever visited, NASA said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn