The American space agency NASA is planning a mission to an asteroid, which may contain a whole storehouse of minerals, the preliminary cost of which is about 10,000 quadrillion dollars.
The planned mission greatly excited the public – when the movie 'Armageddon' was released, and this was almost 20 years ago, the idea of landing on an asteroid seemed like science fiction, nothing more.
This is an asteroid known as '16 Psyche '. It is believed that this cosmic body is entirely composed of iron and other precious metals. The mission to this space body is scheduled for launch in 2023. The mission leaders plan to meet in seven years for the unmanned spacecraft to get to the surface of the asteroid.
“We have been to different planets, we have been to other asteroids. But we have never visited a body that was all metal, 'said Carol Polyanski, mission scientist.
The mission is being developed by NASA, led by researchers from the University of Arizona, and developed by Planetary Resources. According to preliminary estimates, only the iron that contains the asteroid is currently estimated to cost about 10,000 quadrillion dollars (1 with 19 zeros).
In September last year, NASA already launched a mission to an asteroid, which involves the return of an unmanned vehicle to Earth with a soil sample.
Sources: CBS
