---
title: "NASA May Cancel Mission to Zillion Dollar Asteroid"
description: "A NASA update has revealed that after a series of delays, the Psyche asteroid mission is under review and may ultimately be scrapped."
date: "2022-07-16"
modified: "2022-07-16"
authors:
  - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-psyche-mission-peril"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "asteroid"
  - "falcon"
  - "psyche"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA May Cancel Mission to Zillion Dollar Asteroid

![A NASA update has revealed that after a series of delays, the Psyche asteroid mission is under review and may ultimately be scrapped.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/nasa-may-cancel-mission-to-zillion-dollar-asteroid.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Poor Psyche

Well, a [$10 quintillion asteroid](<https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/asteroid-16-psyche-may-be-worth-more-than-planet-earth-at-10-quintillion-in-fine-metals-180979303/#:~:text=SMART%20NEWS-,This%20Metal%2DRich%2C%20Potato%2DShaped%20Asteroid,Could%20Be%20Worth%20%2410%20Quintillion&text=In%20August%202022%2C%20NASA%20will,appears%20as%20a%20fuzzy%20blur.>) to be exact.

Announced [back in 2017](<https://psyche.asu.edu/timeline/#:~:text=Following%20the%20site%20visit%2C%20the,flight%20was%20announced%20by%20NASA.>) and originally [slated to launch](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-launch-services-contract-for-the-psyche-mission>) this summer, NASA's [much-delayed](<https://www.cnet.com/science/space/nasa-delays-mission-to-valuable-asteroid-psyche-on-a-falcon-heavy/>) Psyche mission is — or, perhaps, was — an endeavor to [explore the metallic asteroid Psyche](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-shows-off-psyche>), a uniquely resource-laden celestial body sandwiched between Mars and Jupiter. The venture [was touted](<https://psyche.asu.edu/>) as an incredible opportunity to study a world vastly different from our own, while hopefully unlocking some clues about the origins of our Universe.

But now, it looks like those efforts are in trouble — a [NASA update has revealed](<https://blogs.nasa.gov/psyche/2022/07/14/nasa-begins-psyche-mission-review/>) that the mission is under review and may ultimately be scrapped.

## Uncertainty

NASA stipulates that the assessment intends to examine the "project and institutional issues" that have led to the uncrewed spacecraft's allegedly [software-related delays](<https://www.cnet.com/science/space/nasa-delays-mission-to-valuable-asteroid-psyche-on-a-falcon-heavy/>).

"The review will study factors of workforce environment, culture, communication, schedule, and both technical and programmatic risks," reads the agency's post. "Results of this study will help inform a continuation/ termination review for the mission."

To be fair, getting to Psyche is no easy task. The spacecraft is meant to launch into space [onboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-spacex-asteroid-psyche>), slingshot around Mars, and then make the three-year trek to the far-off asteroid, where it was to spend 21 months relaying imagery back to Earth-bound NASA scientists.

Regardless, [a lot of money](<https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/psyche-cost#:~:text=The%20Psyche%20mission%20is%20estimated,its%206%2Dyear%20prime%20mission.>) has gone into this project already. And as this potential cancellation comes on the heels of a flurry of other [high-profile delays](<https://futurism.com/scathing-report-nasa-behind-moon-landing>) regarding the extremely expensive [Artemis missions](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mega-moon-rocket-leak-test>), it's probably fair to assume that the agency is feeling some pretty deep frustration.

**More on NASA troubles:** [*Something Very Bad Might Be About to Go Down at NASA*](<https://futurism.com/nasa-inspector-general-report-looming>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride."

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/mharrisondupre.bsky.social>)