Given it was first due to blast off last year, what's another week or so?
it makes up one percent of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid is made up of a mixture of rock and metal, with the latter making up between 30 to 60 percent of its volume.
Astronomers believe its high metal content suggests the body could be a core leftover from a failed terrestrial planet that began forming billions of years ago. Studying its composition and properties could reveal how rocky planets like Earth were created. Others, however, reckon Psyche came from another type of iron-rich body.
"If it is a planetesimal, asteroid Psyche may offer a close look at the interior of terrestrial planets like Earth.
If all goes to plan and Psyche takes off next month, it should reach the asteroid in August 2029 and orbit it for at least 26 months, coming as close as 47 miles from its surface. NASA is also sending the spacecraft off to test a new type of high-bandwidth optical communications system that could one day power the agency's hoped-for future mission to put astronauts on Mars. ®
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