NASA's Psyche Mission Will Study an Asteroid to Learn How Planets May Have Formed

In a space-exploration-first, NASA's Psyche mission will explore an asteroid made mostly out of metal rather than rocks. Scientists believe the Psyche asteroid may be the exposed core of an early planet -- and it could tell us more about Earth.

Scientists believe Earth, and other terrestrial planets, have dense metal cores at the center of the magma beneath their surfaces.

Enter Psyche, an asteroid orbiting around in the solar system between Mars and Jupiter, which may actually be the exposed core of an early planet.It's made of nickel and iron, along with some rock, according to theNASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU By sending the probe, scientist hope to confirm their theory that Psyche is in fact the core of an early planet and determine how old it is.

The Psyche spacecraft has a body"slightly bigger than a Smart Car and about as tall as a regulation basketball hoop,"

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