The Psyche mission to metal-rich asteroid

[dlamberth]

"Named for its target, this endeavor will send a spacecraft on an impressive 2.2-billion-mile (3.5-billion-km) journey toward an asteroid dubbed 16 Psyche — but what's key here is that this asteroid is far more than a simple space rock. It may very well be the surviving metal core of a planet that had its outer layers stripped away long, long ago."

NASA's Psyche metal asteroid mission will have a big impact on astronomy. Here's how

 

[Astrid]

"Named for its target, this endeavor will send a spacecraft on an impressive 2.2-billion-mile (3.5-billion-km) journey toward an asteroid dubbed 16 Psyche — but what's key here is that this asteroid is far more than a simple space rock. It may very well be the surviving metal core of a planet that had its outer layers stripped away long, long ago."

NASA's Psyche metal asteroid mission will have a big impact on astronomy. Here's how

What if it's made of platinum

 

[Astrophile]

What if it's made of platinum

It can't be. Platinum, with a density of 21.45 g/cm³, is much denser than Psyche. Also, the cosmic abundance of platinum is much less than that of iron, so Psyche must contain much more iron than platinum.