Asteroid 16 Psyche believed worth USD 10000 quadrillions could be a rubber pile?

New research published in the journal The Planetary Science, reveals the contradictory properties of the asteroid 16 Psyche which was earlier supposed to be a dense asteroid made of 97% metal consisting of iron, gold and nickel.

Image credit: NASA

Washington: Psyche 16, the asteroid which was believed to be worth $ 10,000 Quadrillion because of its metal content, may not worth that huge amount of money at all.
As the new revelations suggest, the asteroid may be a porous pile of rubber that was earlier supposed to contain 97% dense metal like iron, gold, and nickel.

According to new research published in The Planetary Science journal led by undergraduate student David Cantillo at the University of Arizona, 16 Psyche is 82.5% metal, 7% low-iron pyroxene, and 10.5% carbonaceous chondrite that was likely delivered by impacts from other asteroids. 

Cantillo and his collaborators estimate that 16 Psyche's bulk density, also known as porosity, which refers to the empty space is found within its body is around 35%.

"That drop in metallic content and bulk density is interesting because it shows that 16 Psyche is more modified than previously thought," Cantillo said.

The data shows low-density estimates despite the metal content which indicates that it was possibly exposed to collisions with other asteroids that contained carbonaceous chondrites.

However, NASA is all set to launch its intriguing Psyche spacecraft in August 2022 to explore the giant asteroid 16 Psyche that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. And only after NASA's this mission we will be able to find out the true properties of the Psyche asteroid