NASA to probe 'iron' asteroid

Preparations continue for an Oct. 5 launch of a NASA orbiter that uses futuristic electric propulsion technology for a rendezvous with 16 Psyche, the heart of a demolished planet believed to be made almost entirely of iron. 

The $985M is intended to help scientists determine whether the 140-mile-wide asteroid, which varies between 235M and 309M miles away, was formed like Earth.

The 10-x 8-foot Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It will accelerate the probe to the speed it needs to escape the gravity of Earth and the sun.

Then, the space probe will start one of its four Hall-effect thrusters to accelerate toward its final destination.

The iron propulsion technology involves using solar electrical power to generate electromagnetic fields for charged xenon gas.

The engines will run one at a time for two years.

As part of its mission, Psyche will gather topographical and chemical composition data, looking for evidence of a magnetic field. 

The most important goal is to establish how planets like Earth could be the result of a large numbers of primordial matter collisions and debris accumulation over eons. (Space Daily 08/16/23)