{"id":2000105725,"date":"2026-03-17T15:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000105725"},"modified":"2026-03-17T15:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:38:13","slug":"a-massive-crater-on-asteroid-psyche-could-reveal-its-lost-origins-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/a-massive-crater-on-asteroid-psyche-could-reveal-its-lost-origins-study\/","title":{"rendered":"A massive crater on Asteroid Psyche could reveal its lost origins – study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A team from the University of Arizona\u2019s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory has created simulations to better understand Psyche\u2019s interior by studying the formation of a large crater near its north pole. Their research, published in JGR Planets, suggests that craters can reveal key information about the asteroid’s composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study found that Psyche’s internal porosity, the amount of empty space within it, plays a crucial role in how craters form. Asteroids with more voids absorb impact energy differently, creating deeper, steeper craters with less debris scattered around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This finding is important as it could help scientists interpret the data NASA\u2019s spacecraft will collect, including whether Psyche has distinct layers of rock and metal or is a chaotic mixture of materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists also modeled an impact on Psyche using a 3D shape model and found that a 3-mile wide impactor could create the type of crater seen on the asteroid. This result could indicate whether Psyche\u2019s interior is made up of a metallic core surrounded by a thin rocky mantle, or a mixture of metal and rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upcoming NASA Psyche mission will analyze Psyche\u2019s surface, gravity, magnetic field, and composition to confirm these predictions. With these simulations, scientists are hopeful that the spacecraft will uncover whether Psyche holds the secrets of a lost planet\u2019s core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This illustration, created in March 2021, depicts asteroid Psyche, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is the focal point of NASA’s mission of the same name.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asteroid 16 Psyche, the largest known metal-rich object in the asteroid belt, continues to puzzle scientists about its origins. With its size of 140 miles across, it’s thought to be a remnant of an early planet, possibly torn apart by collisions or stripped of its outer layers. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, set to arrive in 2029, aims to unlock its mysteries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000105726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000105725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000105726,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/xn.jpg","alt":"","caption":"This illustration, created in March 2021, depicts asteroid Psyche, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is the focal point of NASA's mission of the same name.","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":690,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/xn.jpg","width":150,"height":104},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/xn.jpg","width":300,"height":207},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/xn.jpg","width":768,"height":530},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/xn.jpg","width":1000,"height":690},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/xn.jpg","width":1000,"height":690}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000105725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000105727,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105725\/revisions\/2000105727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000105726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000105725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000105725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000105725"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000105725"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000105725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}