NASA is about to launch a study of a literal floating goldmine.
Researchers believe an asteroid named Psyche 16 could contain roughly $700 quintillion worth of precious metals -- enough to make everyone in the world a billionaire many times over.
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The agency is launching a probe to get a closer look at the asteroid, which orbits the Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The target launch date is August 2022. And these won't be quick results. Psyche 16 is hundreds of millions of miles from Earth, so the probe won't arrive until 2026. It will then spend 21 months gathering scientific data.
Scientists think that Psyche 16 is largely iron and nickel and could be the core of an early planet. They confirmed the asteroid is at least 20% metal, which puts it worth at about $140 quintillion. Further investigation is needed to find out its true value.
The probe investigating the asteroid has three instruments. A magnetometer to investigate the asteroid's potential magnetic field, a multispectral imager to capture images of its surface, and a spectrometer to analyze neutrons and gamma rays coming from its surface to determine elements that make up the asteroid, NASA explained.
NASA said studying the metallic asteroid may also shed some light on the formation of the solar system and our own planet.
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