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"There's an extremely rare metallic asteroid lurking between Mars and Jupiter, and it's worth more than the entire global economy. Now, the Hubble Space Telescope has given us a closer look at the object, which is worth an estimated $10,000 quadrillion."
The space rock is about the size of West Virginia and made of iron and nickel. NASA is sending a probe in 2022. We should also get the Space Force up there to guard it.
NASA doesnt even have the ability to know what metals compose an asteroid.
What makes you say this? I have no information one way or the other but you sound very sure so I'm interested in your source because it goes against years of articles like the OP where NASA scientists discuss the metallurgical makeup of various things in space.
Again, not saying I agree or disagree with you, just curious.
Iron and nickel aren't exactly rare metals. A chunk that big would be worth some money, but not more than the entire global economy.
I'm sure that NASA can analyze what metals are in an astroid without even getting close to it. They could use Major Mass Spec or some other related tool
Last edited by oregonwoodsmoke; 10-28-2020 at 04:28 PM..
We can stipulate that the asteroid was formed from the materials found at the creation of the Solar System, and those abundances are fairly well established including the history of what materials were ejected by the early Sun. 16 Psyche was formed from a differentiated parent body, so the materials are those found near the progenitor's core. I.e. likely the heavier elements that sank to the center, including iron, cobalt, nickel, platinum, gold, silver, &c. What would be probably be missing are volatiles, except for those that later seeded the surface. Extracting the more precious elements could be a challenge, but they are likely there in great abundance if we are willing to put in the effort.
That's like referring to 10 billion as 10,000 million. While correct, it's needless.
Anyway, given that global wealth is a fraction of 1 quadrillion, the 'value' of that asteroid is meaningless. Also, do people not understand the concept of supply and demand? There simply isn't the demand for a supply of iron constituting orders of magnitude beyond what is available on Earth at present production rates.
NASA finds asteroid worth 10,000 Quadrillion Dollars
As-is, where-is, right?
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of that asteroid is meaningless. Also, do people not understand the concept of supply and demand? There simply isn't the demand for a supply of iron constituting orders of magnitude beyond what is available on Earth at present production rates.
