SPACE — NASA is readying for a mission that will launch in 2022 to explore the metal asteroid Psyche. <br /><br />Scientists think Psyche may once have been a Mars-sized planet that had its outer crust blasted off billions of years ago by violent asteroid collisions, according to NASA's website.<br /><br />Psyche is located in the main asteroid belt in our solar system between Mars and Jupiter. <br />Researchers believe Psyche is composed mostly of iron and nickel, similar to Earth's core.<br /><br />Psyche will carry scientific instruments including a magnetometer to measure the asteroid's magnetic field and a spectrometer to detect what exactly the ancient asteroid is made out of, according to NASA.<br /><br />A multispectral imager will take high-resolution images of Psyche to distinguish between metals and silicates.<br /><br />The probe will be launched in August 2022 and is expected to reach the asteroid by Jan. 31, 2026.<br /><br />Through this mission, scientists hope to gain a better understanding of how our solar system was formed.
