JPL offered up this interesting video about the Psyche spacecraft’s upcoming Martian slingshot maneuver, which will send the probe on the final leg of its mission, an encounter with the metal rich asteroid Psyche, in 2029.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HFFZuJoAi/
“16 Psyche (/ˈsaɪkiː/ SY-kee) is a large M-type asteroid, which was discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, on 17 March 1852 and named after the Greek goddess Psyche.
The prefix “16” signifies that it was the sixteenth minor planet in order of discovery. It is the largest and most massive of the M-type asteroids, and one of the dozen most massive asteroids. This body has a mean diameter of approximately 222 kilometers (138 mi) and contains about one percent of the cumulative mass of the whole asteroid belt. It was thought to be the exposed core of a protoplanet, but observations reported in 2020 have cast doubt on that hypothesis.” – Wikipedia
Many of Larry Niven’s Known Space stories featured “Belters” and their singleships exploring and mining the asteroid belt
Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.
Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.
