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NASA’s Hubble Telescope has obtained images of an asteroid so rich in metals that its worth puts our global economy to shame. Think $10,000 quadrillion ($10,000,000,000,000,000,000), compared to the world’s economy, which was worth about $142 trillion in 2019.
The rare heavy-metal object, called “16 Psyche,” is one of the largest celestial bodies in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. It’s located at roughly 370 million km (230 million miles) from Earth and measures 226 km (140 miles) across.
16 Psyche was actually discovered in 1852, but this is the first time scientists can get a closer look. What makes it special is that, unlike most asteroids that are either rocky or icy, 16 Psyche is made almost entirely of iron and nickel, a study published this week in The Planetary Science Journal shows.
Tracy Becker, a planetary scientist and author of the paper, says the asteroid is likely the leftover core of a planet that never properly formed because it was hit by objects in our solar system and effectively lost its mantle and crust.
While Hubble has been able to get clear images of 16 Psyche, only a visit to its surface will reveal what it’s really like. NASA already has plans to do just that as part of its Discovery Program, with an orbiter set to launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in August 2022.
The mission would arrive at 16 Psyche in January 2026 and spend at least 21 months mapping and studying the asteroid’s unique properties.
“To understand what really makes up a planet and to potentially see the inside of a planet is fascinating,” says Becker, who works at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “Once we get to Psyche, we’re really going to understand if that’s the case, even if it doesn’t turn out as we expect.”
If the mission could kindly bring the asteroid back to Earth, every person on the planet — all 7.8 billion of us — would get roughly $1.2 billion, based on current metal prices.
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52 Comments
vernon emary
and not one drill hole of proof, does article 43-101 not apply here?
Cecilia Jamasmie
Very good point! There’s currently no legislation governing space mining, but several organizations, including NASA, are working on it.
Dina Rogers
very interested in mining
Lobo Tiggre
I’m disappointed by this coverage. Mining.com writers should know that recovery rates and costs matter. If we look at Psyche 16 as a deposit, it’s one of only guessed-at composition and consistency. It would be an order of magnitude (or two or three) below Inferred. But even if there is a giant metal deposit there, since it is literally not possible to mine it today, its value is zero. And even if it were possible, if it costs more to mine than the metals could be sold for, its value would still be zero. It’s just not right to repeat these silly quadrillions of dollars numbers regarding a possible deposit that has not been defined and that we don’t yet have the technology to even explore, let alone exploit.
Kristian
well, we have to understand that Scientific American is crazy-hyping almost everyone of their stories in order to support magazine sales. (backfires for me).
cacarr
I think we can be quite certain that there’s an enormous deposit there — much more certain than you suggest.
I expect 16 Psyche will not be exploited until some point in the future when we are building large structures (e.g., O’Neil Cylinders) in space. We might even hollow out a large cavity in the middle of it, and spin up a cylinder inside.
Steve
We got the tech to check it out (at little extra cost to it’s original mission… based on poss value… check it… no brainer.
We may soon have the tech to bump it our way.
Value… whatevs we all do with it : )
Kenneth
I agree. I think you are academically inclined
Jack
Overly exaggerated value. For it to have any value at all…there has to be a feasible and economical way to mine it and bring the mined ore back to earth. Then the asteroid metal has to compete in the market with earth-mined metals (which would be a lot cheaper).
Vishnu Gandhi
Current price of metal depends on supply and demand so if we bring this metal on earth price of metal will fall and all miners will be unemployed.. Lol
Cecilia Jamasmie
Exactly! It could be even cheaper than salt. Also, we all know that the final worth would depend on many, many other factors, including recovery rates and costs. So not really $1.2 billion each human being, but fun to do the math.
Tim L
When you say “rare metal” one might be mistaken for thinking you are actually referring to rare-earth metals or just metals which are rare. In the case of this article you are referring to nickel and iron, one of which is the most abundant metal in the universe.
Frik Els
It’s the asteroid made of metal that’s the rare part, but I see how it can be read that way – Ed.
cacarr
It contains PGMs and gold as well, very likely.
Cecilia Jamasmie
As Frik pointed out, the headline could be read as this:
“NASA finds asteroid made of metal, which is rare, and is worth more than global economy”
cacarr
I object to “finds.” We definitely did not *find* it recently.
Senarath Basnayake
….an asteroid with a rare amount of metal…..
cacarr
I suppose a company would stockpile the metals and trickle them into market, De Beers-style.
Neville Feltham
Agreed. And then the economic fall out to the current industry we have in place. And then there is the relevancy of it all…if everyone was given $1.2 billion, disposal income would not differ than now due to price increases on other commodities due to the new supply of wealth and greater demand. Nice to dream about i guess.
Cecilia Jamasmie
There’s a more fundamental reason why a giant asteroid wouldn’t make the world fabulously rich. It’s because wealth mostly doesn’t come from big hunks of metal. It comes from the ability to create things that satisfy human needs.
A steel factory represents real wealth, because you can use it to make parts for cars, buildings and so on.
Cris
Its a intresting point of wiew, how the wealth of mankind is managed. Some people are filthy rich, and other have nothing. As every newborn child in all states got a huge goverment debt, they have less than nothing. The derivates of the world is astimates to 1,2 quadrillion dollars. But this is only in holding companies balance sheets, with no employment ot turnover. This wealth is not benefitting any of manking, cause its only by debt you get it back to people. Still all wealth is earned by hundred of generations, mostly in slavery conditions. It takes some 3800 years to give back this “money” if you give everyone 1000 dollars every second. Its a good question, why have this, maybe allready millions of holding companies, to avoid taxes and wealth for common people. Why destroy earth and all habitats for money?
Geoff
It could be kept rare like the diamond industry does with diamonds.
Alan Raymond Taylor
Its approx. six million cubic kilometers in volume and at five tons per cubic meter means we aint movin it too far.
Piotrek radecki
But weight doesn’t matter in space…
NA
But mass does. Inertia.
Linda MacDonald
But mass matters… a lot. And an astroid that size and composition would have a great deal of mass.
Engr. (K. D.) Glen Glendinning
I N E R T I A ?
cacarr
This is quite a stupid headline, as it makes it sound like 16 Psyche was just discovered — rather than it having been discovered in the 19th century. That’s eventually pointed out, but it’s still a dumb click-bait headline.
“Hubble Provides Best Image Yet of Nickel-Iron Protoplanetary Core”
… something like that.
Tree Thunderchild
It is nice this caught the attention of mining.com This planet has a rather thin layer on it that has life, which is more rare than metals (as far as we know). I’m in favor of life, which some might confuse as being against mining. But as with all business, ones where both sides win, tend to get better results in the long run. I am VERY much in favor of space mining, though not in favor of bringing it to earth. Those who say it’s not possible or economic, perhaps may not be able to think outside the box. Would not gold being dense, be valuable in space for radiation shielding? Not wanting to debate that point but point to the value of space mines not being limited to bringing it to earth. But in helping us to live and work beyond it. That those who do not love the earth, can leave it, in a good way. I like win/win scenarios. Mining in space? Please do. Things like cities don’t seem to fit on this planet as well as they would off this planet. Nature’s way of telling us something? I don’t want all that was done to get us here to be for nothing. I don’t want us to stop, I want us to move forward. At everyone’s benefit. No way exists? Then create one. I think the word “can’t” should be illegal for holding is back, when we should be flying. Thank you for your time, and for allowing this post on your site. DeepSpaceMine.
Mathale
I am just curious to understand how this value was arrived at, and how is the 1.2 billion will be distributed to everyone of us on the planet, including those who will be born after 2026?
Engr. (K. D.) Glen Glendinning
E X A C T LY !
Martin Mount
The sort of misleading comment that Trump would make – FAKE NEWS.
Joey Quentin
Well, talk about making every person of 7.8 billion population, to become billionaire worth of US 1.2 billion dollars. Then, the whole whole can retire and stay home. Every shops and malls on earth is closed forever. No more forex, shares, markets, currency exchange, investors and businesses and no one ever goes to work..! No more schools, universities, sports, jobs and banks. No more, politics, votes, governments and laws. But everyone drink, eat and party all day and night, until everyone dies. Wow, Imagine that folks…what a life, would the world have. Damn to hell…the world would become if, every tom, dick and harry becomes a billionaire.
JazzDgte
SpaceX is not sleeping to make sure we can mine space rocks one day. They got the billions already and trillion are approachings. With so much wealth, I don’t think you would just want to sleep and party. I think you would do what you want when you were just 10 years old.
With all the technology maturing plus new ones and AI, who knows what we’ll be capable of even in 20 years.
Agua Satoto
Isn’t every d**k already a billionaire?
scooter duff
Price controls! Un-corruptable AIs price all goods and services with a dynamic model based on inherent worth, not supply/demand worth, putting an end to inflation. Then the world of new billionaires would become wealthy in purchasing power that would not diminish. Talk about a new kind of economy! That’s the path to Iain N. Bank’s post-shortage Culture,
scooter duff
Incorruptible
Simon
If someone would bring that thing close to earth, the metal price would drop to nothing, the earth would be destroyed, the mass of that asteroid would kill the planet …
John
Lighten up people. Can you not see the ‘entertainment’ side of this? I found it interesting ( unlike the commentary on what an ore body is etc).
Charles
It’s a nice and economicaly valuable discovery but is it possible to bring that precious thing back home
J
Only on earth people will fight over shiny rocks
Lead Song
No Jack, you don’t want to bring it back to Earth. The terrestrial value is trivial, it’s real value is for use **in space**. Raising payload from Earth to orbit costs ~$1.5M/tonne, even on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy. That’s a huge waste of fuel and money when we could get iron and nickel from Psyche. With silica and carbon from many other asteroids, and energy from sunlight (and someday fusion) we can make steel alloy freighters, which will then bring water from asteroids, Saturn’s rings, or even Enceladus. Water and sunlight make H2 and O2. With those ingredients you get effectively unlimited habitat, life support and rocket fuel, all without polluting Earth. It’s not an overnight development path, but it has to be worth working for. Let’s hope smelting in space isn’t too difficult for the markets to get behind.
Mor
Glad I read all the comments, the last one was the most interesting. Thanks !
Greg Ansen
Given that this is the only planetary core that we are ever likely to. touch, the science mission will be absolutely priceless too.
Alexander Peysotchenko
If this huge mass is added to earth most likely the moon will fall on earth :), the rotation of earth around sun will slow or speed up, and the money would not matter at all then 😉
jesse
Just nudge it to mars… When it lands, and the dusty death cloud from its impact settles, there would be a brand new crater to explore, that would have penetrated into the crust to study the layers of Mars, and a massive deposit of iron to use in building cities on Mars with…
All jokes aside, it is pretty neat that this could possibly be a planetary core
Cris
The global wealth is according to credit suisse 360,6 trillion dollars.
Kyle
Pretty sure if it’s not food or water… It’s worthless
Joe Altman
Well. Interesting find but far from being realistic.
Billions of dollars to further remotely explore.
Billions of dollars to send an orbital device .
Low chance of landing an exploration vehicle due to very high magnetic interference ( if it is actually iron) .
Diversion out of its orbit towards earth ? Impossible in today’s technology.
Entering earth atmosphere will burn it out in enormous rate. The rest will be catastrophic. ( human Dino’s eliminates or the majority of us)
I think that NASA should redirect funds to fight ourself destruction of the human race like the one we are facing now rather than explore the impossible.
Good for startrek movies
However fun to read.
Kopana
What is value of silicon metal
Chief consultant
We avoid asteroids to bring even near the earth with dear of collision, how come NASA would want to bring and distribute its wealth? ?
Shea
Well….who would buy it though? Like, are we going to get it? Where are we gonna put it.