A space jewel? Psyche, the asteroid that would be worth up to 10 times the world economy

He hubble space telescope recently took a clear picture of the Psyche, an asteroid composed of iron and nickel, which makes it a gold mine, economically speaking

“We have seen meteorites that are mostly metallic, but Psyche could be unique in that it could be an asteroid made entirely of iron and nickel. The Earth has a metallic core, a mantle and a crust. It is possible that while it formed a protoplanet Psyche, was hit by another object in our solar system and lost its mantle and crust, “he explained. Tracy Becker, planetary scientist of the Southwestern American Research Institute
(Southwest Research Institute)

According to a study published in The Planetary Science Journal,
16 Psyche measures over 220 km and is one of the most massive objects in the main belt of asteroids orbiting in between Mars and Jupiter.

Metals are believed that make it up could be worth about 10,000 quadrillion dollars, while the world economy was valued at around $ 142 trillion in 2019, according to Forbes.

Psyche is one of the asteroids studied by NASA. This year, the US space agency announced that a mission to the asteroid could begin in 2023, which aims to study one of the most mysterious phenomena of the main belt: the 16 Psyche

“What makes Psyche and the other asteroids so interesting is that they are considered to be the building blocks of the solar system. Understanding what actually constitutes a planet and potentially seeing inside it is fascinating. Once we get to Psyche, we will really understand if this is the case, even if it will not go as we hope. Whenever there’s a surprise, it’s always thrilling, ”Becker said.