---
title: "NASA Hires SpaceX to Launch Mission to Giant Metal Asteroid"
description: "NASA has struck a deal with the Elon Musk-led SpaceX to launch its historic uncrewed mission to the metallic asteroid Psyche."
date: "2020-03-03"
modified: "2020-03-03"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-spacex-asteroid-psyche"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "asteroids"
  - "NASA"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Hires SpaceX to Launch Mission to Giant Metal Asteroid

![NASA has struck a deal with the Elon Musk-led SpaceX to launch its historic uncrewed mission to the metallic asteroid Psyche.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/hasa-hires-spacex-launch-mission-metal-asteroid.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Heavy Metal

NASA's [historic uncrewed mission](<https://futurism.com/nasa-fast-tracking-plans-explore-metal-asteroid-worth-10000-quadrillion>) to the metallic asteroid Psyche is now, also, a SpaceX jam. Elon Musk's rocket company will be responsible for getting the probe launched onboard a Falcon Heavy.

"The Psyche mission will journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter," reads a NASA [press release](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-launch-services-contract-for-the-psyche-mission>) about the collab. "The asteroid is considered unique, as it appears to largely be made of the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet – one of the building blocks of our solar system."

## Power Launch Date

If all goes well, the mission [will lift off](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-preparing-explore-metal-asteroid>) in summer 2022 from Cape Canaveral.

The nimble Psyche probe — which, yes, confusingly has the same name as the asteroid it's exploring — will be loaded with equipment from Earthling researchers, which it'll use to investigate the asteroid's composition.

## Abnormal Psyche

According to one estimate, the materials that make up Psyche are [worth a staggering](<https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-just-fast-tracked-their-mission-to-explore-a-10-000-quadrillion-metal-asteroid>) $10,000 quadrillion — though, of course, it would be impractically expensive to bring them back to Earth with current-generation tech.

NASA's goal, though, isn't financial. Instead, it's hoping that new data about Psyche will help explain the early history of the solar system.

**READ MORE:** [NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Psyche Mission](<https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-launch-services-contract-for-the-psyche-mission>) \[NASA\]

**More on SpaceX:** *[What in Tarnation Is This “SpaceX Village” by the Starship Launch Site](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-village-starship-launch-site>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

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