NASA picks SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch Psyche mission to metal asteroid in 2022

[Judi Lynn]

By Samantha Mathewson 8 hours ago

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NASA has contracted SpaceX to launch the agency's Psyche mission to a unique metal asteroid.

The $117 million Psyche mission will use one of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rockets, and it is scheduled to launch from Launch Complex 39A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July 2022.

The spacecraft will travel to a unique metal-rich asteroid named Psyche, which orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers believe that studying this new asteroid will offer new clues about how terrestrial planets like Earth form, according to a statement from NASA.



A Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 6, 2018. (Image credit: SpaceX)

"The asteroid is considered unique, as it appears to largely be made of the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet — one of the building blocks of our solar system," NASA officials said in the statement.

More:
https://www.space.com/spacex-falcon-heavy-launching-nasa-psyche-asteroid-mission.html