It’s called 16 Psyche and was discovered thanks to the Naples Observatory
The richest treasure in the world is not hidden in an ancient Indian temple or in a deep sea grave. More unreachable than you might think, the king of all treasures wanders in space and has the shape of an asteroid, in short it is an object comparable to Bennu, which, however, wants to keep at a maximum distance from Earth.
Now NASA wants to deepen our knowledge of this priceless mine of precious metals that is freely wandering in the galactic void.
What is the world’s richest treasure worth and why is it so valuable
16 Psyche was spotted in March 1852 by Annibale de Gasparis, an Italian astronomer stationed at the Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory in Naples.
16 Psyche is 210 kilometers wide and contains within it huge amounts of iron, nickel and other metals, in fact more valuable than gold itself. All together it has been estimated 10 quadrillion dollars, a figure that frankly is really hard to imagine and that is not clearly understandable even when compared with all the wealth of the Earth – estimated in total 100 trillion dollars.
How will NASA get close to the gigantic mass of precious metals
The mission of the U.S. space agency will be called precisely “gold digger”: it is the nasa vehicle that in 2026 should, according to the plans of the space agency, enter the orbit of the asteroid. In 2023, the spacecraft will make a brief passage to Mars, so it is expected to leave Earth before that year. The Red Planet is being scrutinized with increasing attention by scientists, in part because, according to a new theory, it may be hiding life.
“In 21 months in orbit, the spacecraft will map and study 16 properties of Psyche using a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, a magnetometer and a radio instrument,” NASA explained. “One of the reasons why it is interesting to study 16 Psyche is because we can learn a lot about the composition, structure and magnetic properties of the heart of planet Earth,” were instead the words of Saverio Cambioni, who directly studied the curious asteroid.
This is a treasure that, if recovered, would be rich enough to make every inhabitant of Earth a millionaire. Unfortunately, for the moment, this enterprise, worthy of a space Indiana Jones, appears to be very difficult.
Giuseppe Giordano