How NASA uses radio waves to weigh a metal-rich asteroid
NASA's Psyche mission is traveling to a unique asteroid to uncover its interior secrets. This video explains how scientists will use gravity and subtle radio wave fluctuations to map the mass and structure of a world made primarily of metal.
The Psyche mission, led by Maria Zuber of MIT, is the first to visit a metal-rich asteroid located in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. To understand the asteroid's interior, the gravity science team will monitor X-band radio waves bouncing between the spacecraft and Earth. By measuring tiny changes in these waves, they can determine the asteroid's mass, gravity field, rotation, and wobble.
The spacecraft itself is a marvel of engineering, featuring solar arrays that cover roughly the area of a tennis court. It utilizes solar electric propulsion, using Hall-effect thrusters to expel xenon gas. Beyond gravity studies, the mission includes the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment, testing laser-based communications far beyond the Moon.
Source: How Will #MissionToPsyche Use Gravity to Study An Asteroid?
