Major NASA mission update as asteroid could make everyone on Earth a billionaire

04 August 2023 , 11:08

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Illustration of asteroid 16 Psyche with the spacecraft observing it (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/SWNS)

NASA and SpaceX are edging closer to sending a solar-powered spacecraft on a 2.5 billion mile journey to a huge asteroid called 16 Psyche - and it could make everyone on Earth a billionaire.

Hurtling through space is an asteroid so large, it has led to speculation it is completely jam-packed with precious metals and may be worth £8,000 quintillion, which in numerical form is £8,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

If divided equally among everyone on this planet they would all become a billionaire, with the entire global economy estimated to be roughly $110 trillion.

Named after the Greek goddess of the soul, 16 Psyche is an asteroid spanning an impressive 173 miles in width and scientists believe it is primarily composed of gold, iron, and nickel. The craft will journey to the unique metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter some 499,555,545km away from Earth.

Illustration of asteroid 16 Psyche. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/SWNS)

In an update from NASA posted online, they said a team of 30 engineers and technicians are working around the clock to get the spacecraft, also called Psyche, ready. When Psyche is unfurled in flight it will be about the size of a singles tennis court and it is scheduled to arrive at the metal-rich asteroid in 2029.

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NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab confirmed that it has recently completed a comprehensive test of the flight software, successfully installing it on the spacecraft and it has been cleared the way for the upcoming launch at 10:38 a.m. EDT (14:38 GMT) on Thursday, October 5, 2023. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy is targeted to launch Psyche from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Centre.

"The team and I are now counting down the days to launch", Henry Stone, Psyche’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California said. He continued: "The team is conducting numerous training activities to ensure that we are prepared and ready. It’s a very busy time, but everyone is very excited and looking forward to the launch."

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is shown at the Astrotech Space Operations facility (NASA/Frank Michaux/SWNS)

While the prospect of mining asteroids for valuable resources seems enticing, NASA has said it is primarily focused on the scientific aspect of the mission. By investigating 16 Psyche, scientists hope to get crucial information about planetary cores and the processes involved in planet formation, which could significantly advance our understanding of the solar system's evolution.

Noemí Pinilla-Alonso, a planetary scientist with the University of Central Florida’s Florida Space Institute, told Forbes: "A more recent theory, based on detailed studies of the largest M-type asteroid, 16 Psyche, argues that these bodies formed much closer to the sun, were stripped of their thin crusts while still partially molten, and later dynamically moved to their current location."

Rachel Hagan