Some time ago the asteroid Psyche discovered by NASA was estimated to contain a treasure trove of nickel, gold, and iron worth USD 10 million trillion. But the latest research, it turns out that Psyche does not contain as big a treasure as reported. Asteroid 16 Psyche, which is thought to be full of precious metals and worth $10 million trillion, turns out to contain only iron and nickel. This is tantamount to the silicate rocks that make up most other asteroids. But when viewed from Earth, Psyche sends mixed signals about its composition. Researchers from Brown and Purdue Universities provide an example of a giant ball of steel with nearly equal parts vacuum and solid metal.
"What we wanted to do with this study was to see if it was possible for an iron mantle the size of Psyche to maintain a porosity close to 50 percent, we see that is very unlikely," said Fiona Nichols-Fleming, astronomer at Brown University.
In the latest study, Nichols-Fleming and his team created a computer model based on the known thermal properties of metallic iron. The model suggests that to remain highly porous Psyche's internal temperature had to cool below 800 Kelvin or 980 Fahrenheit immediately after its formation. At temperatures above that, iron would be so malleable that Psyche's own gravity would collapse most of the pore space within it. Based on conditions in the early solar system, researchers believe it is highly unlikely that Psyche could have cooled so quickly. The researchers say their findings suggest that Psyche may not be entirely metallic. They believe it's more likely to hide a hidden rocky component that lowers its density. Research published in the Planetary Science Journal in June last year claimed that Psyche is 82.5 percent metal, 7 percent low-iron pyroxene and 10.5 percent carbonaceous chondrite. Those numbers are well below previous estimates that said it could contain as much as 95 percent metal, leaving it full of iron, nickel and gold that could make every person on Earth a billionaire. Whatever's inside Psyche, scientists will soon get a clearer picture of the mysterious asteroid. Because NASA will launch a space mission to investigate the asteroid Psyche.
"This mission is interesting because Psyche is a strange and mysterious thing. So whatever the mission finds later will be a very important new data point for the solar system," he said.
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