NASA Gives Status Update On Its Mission To Capture Asteroid Worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000

NASA has recently updated the status of its ambitious mission targeting an asteroid valued at $10,000 quadrillion.

Last year, the agency declared its plans to venture to the distant asteroid 16 Psyche, which is believed to house a fortune in precious metals such as gold, iron, and nickel.

According to a press release from July 2023, NASA stated:

"Teams of engineers and technicians are working almost around the clock to ensure the orbiter is ready to journey 2.5 billion miles to a metal-rich asteroid that may tell us more about planetary cores and how planets form."

NASA

The mission commenced with the spacecraft launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 13, 2023.

This spacecraft is currently en route, covering a distance of 2.2 billion miles (3.5 billion km) at a speed of about 84,000 mph.

It is slated to arrive at the asteroid in August 2029.

In their latest briefing, NASA reported that the spacecraft has entered 'full cruise' mode.

The spacecraft is utilizing its advanced, almost science fiction-like thrusters to propel itself using xenon ions.

The mission began in October. CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

NASA detailed: "For the next year, the spacecraft will be in what mission planners call 'full cruise' mode, when its electric thrusters take over and propel the orbiter toward the asteroid belt.

"The thrusters work by expelling charged atoms, or ions, of xenon, emitting a brilliant blue glow that trails behind the spacecraft."

As the xenon ions are expelled, they generate thrust that gradually increases the spacecraft's speed to an anticipated 124,000 mph.

Upon reaching the asteroid, the spacecraft will orbit this rocky body for two years, collecting valuable data.

The mission plan also includes a maneuver in May 2026, where the spacecraft will use Mars's gravity to gain additional momentum, setting it on course for its ultimate destination.

NASA

The mission is expected to conclude in November 2031.

NASA reports that the asteroid is quite massive, measuring 173 miles (280 km) across and 144 miles (232 km) in length.

It has a total surface area of 64,000 square miles (165,800 square km).

It's this significant size that motivated NASA to pursue the mission, as explained by Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA's science mission directorate: 

"Psyche is by far the largest, and that's why we want to go to it. Because the smaller ones are more likely to have been changed by things impacting them, whereas the big one, we think, is going to be completely unchanged."

A model of the metal-rich asteroid CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

There has been speculation about the implications if NASA could somehow bring the asteroid back to Earth.

If that were possible, it would theoretically make every person on Earth a billionaire. 

However, such an action would likely disrupt the global economy, akin to every person simultaneously winning the lottery jackpot.