Psyche Science
Psyche is the first mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that contains substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice. The mission will improve our knowledge of iron cores, a previously unexplored building block of planet formation. Learn more about the science of Psyche.
Goals & Objectives
Mission Goals
- Understand iron cores, a previously unexplored building block of planet formation.
- Look inside terrestrial planets, including Earth, by directly examining the interior of a differentiated (layered) body, which otherwise could not be seen.
- Explore a new type of world – a world made not of rock and ice, but metal.
Science Objectives
- Determine whether Psyche is a core, or if it is unmelted material.
- Determine the relative ages of regions of Psyche’s surface.
- Determine whether small metal bodies incorporate the same light elements as are expected in the Earth’s high-pressure core.
- Determine whether Psyche was formed under conditions more oxidizing or more reducing than Earth’s core.
- Characterize Psyche’s topography.
