Technician preparing to integrate the Psyche spacecraft's Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system onto the SEP chassis. The Psyche mission will visit a metal-rich asteroid of the same name that lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid is thought to be the nickel-iron core of an early planet, or protoplanet, that lost its surface in series of violent collisions. Investigating the composition of the asteroid should give insight into the metallic cores of terrestrial planets such as Earth. Psyche is planned to launch in August 2022. Photographed at Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, USA. | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / NASA / Maxar Technologies |
Bildgröße: | 6520 px × 4489 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
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