the probe sent to an asteroid should allow us to better understand the origin of the solar system

This is an unprecedented mission for NASA and the scientific community. Thursday October 12 around 4 p.m., a probe will leave from Florida towards the asteroid Psyche, made of metal. The celestial object, located between Mars and Jupiter, and its observation could provide answers to several questions on the origin of the planets.

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It looks like a very large potato, more than 250 kilometers in diameter, operating in an area of ​​our solar system called the “asteroid belt”, hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth. According to data collected remotely, Psyche contains an enormous amount of iron and nickel, like the earth’s core.

Better understand the origin of the solar system

The probe and its three measuring instruments will attempt to answer several questions such as: Is Psyche the surviving heart of an embryonic planet, destroyed by collision with other celestial bodies? What is its surface made of and what is its density? Is it close to the metallic meteorites collected on Earth, which also bear witness to the past of the solar system?

For Guy Libourel, cosmochemist and professor at the University of Côte d’Azur, these answers are expected: “Its study will give answers on how this body was formed, how it will evolve. We will also be able to have information on its chemical composition, even if we will have fewer details than if we brought back samples”. However, we will have to wait before having these results; the arrival of the probe on Psyche is planned for 2029.