NASA Psyche mission's metal asteroid location has been mapped by MIT experts. The work done by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is considered to be the most detailed map of the space rock called Psyche.
(Photo : Photo by -/NASA/AFP via Getty Images)
This image mosaic of asteroid 253 Mathilde releaseed by NASA 30 June is constructed from four images acquired by the NEAR spacecraft on 27 June. The images were taken from a distance of 1,500 miles.
This heavenly body is an M-type asteroid, meaning that Psyche (also designated as 16-Psyche) is a space rock with high metallic content.
It can be found floating around the main asteroid belt of the solar system.
When it comes to appearance, Psyche has an unusual potato-like shape, as reported by Ars Technica.
NASA Psyche Mission's Metal Asteroid Has Been Mapped
According to Space.Com's latest report, involved MIT experts used the so-called ALMA (Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array) tech in northern Chile.
(Photo : Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Las Vegas Astronomical Society vice president of special events Keith Caceres uses computer software connected to his telescope to locate asteroid 2014 JO25 outside the Planetarium at the College of Southern Nevada on April 19, 2017 in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
They relied on ALMA to measure Psyche's emitted light. Thanks to this space tech, they could discern the temperature and certain electrical properties of the asteroid's materials.
"These maps confirm that metal-rich asteroids are interesting, enigmatic worlds. It's another reason to look forward to the Psyche mission going to the asteroid," stated the lead author of the new study, Saverio Cambioni, an MIT planetary scientist.
Their findings were revealed in the new research titled "The Heterogeneous Surface of Asteroid (16) Psyche," which was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets on June 15.
MIT's Psyche Discoveries
NASA can use the things that MIT discovered about the metallic asteroid before their Psyche mission, which is still experiencing some delays and launches.
After mapping Psyche, MIT researchers claimed that the material at the bottom of a large depression changes temperature quicker than the material on its rim.
Since this is the case, the bottom crater of the metallic asteroid might actually be covered in fine-grained comparable to the sand found on Earth.
If you want to see further details of the things revealed by MIT's new asteroid mapping, you can click this link.
Previously, the NASA InSight Mars lander might be terminated, suspending its operations before 2022 ends.
Also, in our previous story, NASA Hubble Space Telescope detected an isolated black hole for the first time!
For more news updates about the Psyche asteroid and other space rocks, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: NASA's Psyche Delayed Launch Due to Software Glitch, Affects Two Probes That Were Supposed to Ride Along
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Written by: Griffin Davis
