-There aren't many classes of objects left
in our solar system
that we haven't looked at up close with a spacecraft.
And one of them that's left is the metal asteroids.
-16 Psyche is an asteroid
that orbits the sun out between Mars and Jupiter.
-The reason that Psyche is unique is that it is metal rich.
-It's believed that it may be a remnant core of an
early planetesimal that was formed in the very, very
earliest parts of the formation of the solar system.
-And after this planet started forming
and this metal core formed inside of that,
it collided with other bodies that then stripped off the
rocky mantle, leaving this core in place.
-This is the part of planets
that we can't sample directly today.
-It's too hot.
The pressure is too high our instruments would melt.
Can't drill a hole that deep in the Earth or other planets.
So how do we study the core of our planet?
-Psyche gives us the opportunity to visit a core,
the only way that humankind can ever do.
And it would be the first metal object
that humankind has ever visited.
-And we've been approved to go in
August of 2022.
It'll take a number of years to get there.
-Flies past Mars gives us a gravity assist, uses
that propulsion system to then slowly creep up.
towards the end of 2025.
Getting there in early 2026.
-We'll go into four concentrically smaller orbits
to collect the necessary measurements that we need
from our three primary instruments.
-So our payload consists of a couple of imagers,
which are cameras that take pictures of Psyche.
Also a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer
which allows us to measure the elemental composition
of the surface of Psyche.
And then a magnetometer which will allow us to detect
any magnetic field that's left at Psyche.
-If Psyche still has some sort of remnant
magnetic field that probably tells us
it really was a core. It's a strong indicator.
-We also use the radio on the spacecraft
as an instrument, so we can map out the gravity
and map out the interior structure that way.
-We're using a particular thruster technology
Hall effect thruster technology. They operate
five times more efficiently than normal rockets,
so they use a lot less fuel and it's what allows us
to get into orbit around this asteroid.
-Solar electric propulsion has been around for
quite a while and it has flown before, but we're
continuing to push the boundaries.
We're going to have a big five panel fold out solar panels
that will provide the electricity for the thrusters,
which use as propellant the noble gas xenon.
-This will be the first time that
Hall effect thrusters have flown in deep space.
-Studying the evolution of a planetary body
is a detective story.
-There's a magic to when you actually are
on the launch pad and you say, "We're go for launch,"
-And you feel like singing and dancing
and you feel like throwing up at the same time.
-Let's go discover things about our solar system
that we have no other way to do.
I think that it's fundamental to who we are
and also who we should be.
It's an incredible opportunity to be a part
of the team making that happen.