Why This 16th Asteroid Is the Most Wanted One Ever! ☄️✨ Scientists are going crazy over an asteroid called 16 Psyche, and for a good reason—it might be packed with precious metals worth more than Earth's entire economy! This space rock, floating between Mars and Jupiter, is believed to be made almost entirely of iron, nickel, and even gold. If that’s true, mining it could change everything we know about space exploration and wealth. NASA has already launched a mission to check it out up close. Could this asteroid be the key to humanity’s future in space? Watch the video and find out why everyone wants a piece of 16 Psyche! Animation is created by Bright Side.
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00Imagine an asteroid so full of valuable metals that it could make every person on Earth a
00:07billionaire.
00:08Well, that's not science fiction.
00:10It's 1-6 Psyche, a massive metallic space rock orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
00:17It isn't just extraordinary because of its value, estimated at $10 quintillion.
00:23That's a figure that dwarfs the global economy many times over.
00:27It also has clues about the formation of planets, especially the rocky worlds like
00:33Earth.
00:35In October 2023, NASA launched the Psyche spacecraft.
00:40This mission is to explore the cosmic treasure trove.
00:43It's supposed to arrive at the asteroid in August 2029, and astronomers hope that it
00:48will give us some insights not just about the asteroid's glittering wealth, but also
00:53about how planets form and evolve in our solar system.
00:57But what exactly makes Psyche unique?
01:01First discovered in 1852 by an Italian astronomer, it was the 16th asteroid people identified,
01:08hence its name.
01:09It stands out among the millions of space rocks in the asteroid belt for one main reason
01:14– its metallic composition.
01:18While most asteroids are rocky or icy, Psyche seems to be made primarily of iron, nickel,
01:24and possibly even gold and other rare metals.
01:28At about 173 miles wide, it isn't the largest asteroid.
01:32It's easily dwarfed by others like Ceres, but its size is still impressive.
01:37After all, its surface area is 64,000 square miles, like that of the state of Florida.
01:44Astronomers think that between 30 and 60 percent of the asteroid's surface might consist of
01:48precious metals.
01:51They also think that this space rock might be the exposed core of a planetesimal.
01:57A planetesimal is basically a protoplanet, a large space body in orbit around a star
02:03developing into a planet.
02:06And this planetesimal could have grown into a full-fledged planet if it hadn't been
02:10destroyed in some catastrophic collision billions of years ago.
02:15If this theory is correct, Psyche can give us a unique glimpse into what lies deep within
02:20terrestrial planets like Earth, where planetary cores are hidden thousands of miles beneath
02:25thick crusts and mantles.
02:28Now remember that spacecraft that went to explore the asteroid?
02:32After embarking on its ambitious mission, the Psyche probe will travel a mind-boggling
02:372.2 billion miles to reach its goal.
02:41This journey will take nearly six years.
02:44On its way to the asteroid, the spacecraft will pass by Mars in May 2026 and use the
02:50red planet's gravity to slingshot itself deeper into space.
02:54This maneuver is called a gravity assist, and it will boost the velocity of the probe
02:59and refine its trajectory toward the asteroid.
03:02By the time it reaches its goal in August 2029, the spacecraft will be set to orbit
03:07the asteroid for at least 26 months.
03:11During this time, it will analyze its surface, figure out its composition, and attempt to
03:16unravel its history.
03:19The probe is equipped with some pretty cool tools.
03:22One of them is called a multispectral imager.
03:25This instrument will snap high-resolution images of the asteroid's surface.
03:30It's supposed to help astronomers to study its texture and composition.
03:34Then, the probe has a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer.
03:40This instrument will measure the asteroid's chemical elements, including its metal content.
03:46A magnetometer will detect a magnetic field, if any, which could confirm Psyche's origin
03:52as a planetary core.
03:55And finally, an X-band radio system will help determine the asteroid's gravity field,
04:00which can offer insights into the asteroid's internal structure.
04:06NASA isn't sending the spacecraft to assess the value of the space rock as a mining target.
04:10Well, at least not yet.
04:13The main goal of the mission is science.
04:16Researchers hope to answer fundamental questions about how planets form and evolve.
04:21And this asteroid could help us understand what happens when molten material solidifies
04:26into a core.
04:28Another question we need to answer to is, why did it fail to become a planet?
04:33And understanding the history of the asteroid might shed light on why some celestial bodies
04:38grow into planets while others don't.
04:43While NASA's mission is purely exploratory, it has also sparked interest from the point
04:47of view of asteroid mining.
04:50With its estimated worth of $10 quintillion, Psyche could theoretically supply enough raw
04:56materials to revolutionize industries on Earth.
05:00Mining it is likely to be decades away, if it ever happens altogether.
05:04But the idea still sounds amazing.
05:07At the same time, if the asteroid's metals were somehow brought to Earth, their abundance
05:11could cause the value of precious metals like gold to plummet, and it would wreak havoc
05:16on global markets.
05:20Speaking of valuable resources, let's find out how Earth got its own gold, platinum,
05:25and other rare metals.
05:27These elements, aka highly siderophile elements, have a cosmic origin story.
05:33And it's every bit as dramatic as Psyche's.
05:36These precious metals were born in violent cosmic events billions of years ago.
05:42Many appeared in kilonovae, explosive collisions between neutron stars.
05:47These metals were then scattered across space and eventually became part of the gas and
05:51dust cloud that formed our solar system.
05:55When Earth formed, those metals sank towards its iron-rich core, but not all of them ended
06:00up deep inside the planet.
06:03Explosive collisions with rogue protoplanets like the Mars-sized Theia, which most likely
06:07helped to form the Moon, trapped some elements in Earth's mantle.
06:13Recent computer models have explained how this happened.
06:16After each major collision, Earth's surface temporarily became a magma ocean, a molten
06:22layer of rock.
06:24As metals sank through the magma, they reached a partially solid layer that slowed their
06:28descent, keeping them in the mantle instead of the core.
06:32These metals then moved closer to the surface under the influence of thermal convection.
06:37That's what made them accessible for mining billions of years later.
06:43While Psyche's metals are all over the news, space has more to offer than just gold and
06:48iron.
06:49Scientists have discovered, or rather theorized the existence of, different gemstones scattered
06:54across the cosmos, like diamonds.
06:58The thing is, diamonds are made of pure carbon, and this element is abundant in the universe.
07:04On Earth, diamonds form deep in the mantle under high pressure and temperature.
07:09In space, conditions for diamond formation can occur in surprising places.
07:14For example, nanodiamonds, which are really tiny diamonds, have been found in meteorites.
07:20Sometimes they contain gases that give us clues about the early solar system.
07:25Scientists believe that it might rain diamonds on our ice giants, Neptune and Uranus.
07:30There, high pressures compress carbon into crystalline form.
07:35Researchers have also predicted that exoplanets in other solar systems could have gemstones
07:40like rubies and sapphires, depending on their size and proximity to their stars.
07:45Even Earth's moon had its own share of cosmic minerals.
07:50Scientists have found some traces of cubic zirconia in lunar rocks.
07:54So space might hold even more treasures than we've imagined.
07:59But let's get back to the Psyche mission.
08:02It might not only reveal the whole potential of space resources, but also underline the
08:07issues we could face while dealing with them.
08:10For example, mining an asteroid would require the usage of autonomous robots, machines capable
08:16of operating in harsh space environments.
08:19Plus we would need efficient transport systems to bring materials back to Earth or process
08:25them in orbit.
08:27We would need to make sure that mining activities wouldn't damage ecosystems or space environments.
08:33There are also legal and ethical issues, like the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
08:39It prohibits any nation from claiming sovereignty over celestial bodies.
08:44But with private companies entering the space race, debates over ownership and resource
08:49sharing are heating up.
08:52And finally, bringing such amounts of metals to Earth could destabilize global markets.
08:58So experts suggest that space resources might be better used in space.
09:03For building habitats, satellites, and spacecraft.
09:09But no matter whether we ever mine 16 Psyche or not, its exploration will teach us more
09:14about the early solar system and the processes that shaped our planet.
09:20As of December 1st, 2024, the probe is heading for the asteroid following the orbit around
09:25the Sun.
09:27Its journey promises not only to deepen our knowledge of the universe, but also to redefine
09:33what's possible for humanity as we reach for the stars.
09:38That's it for today!
09:39So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
09:44friends.
09:45Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!