Chang, Kenneth. "A Metal Ball the Size of Massachusetts That NASA Wants to Explore." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Jan. 2017. Web. 09 Jan. 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/science/nasa-psyche-asteroid.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront>.
On Wednesday, NASA announced that they will be sending a spacecraft named Psyche to visit the asteroid named Psyche, one of the two new missions that will be launching into the solar system in the 2020s. The asteroid appears to be almost as wide as Massachusetts and has a larger density at about 200 to 450 pounds per cubic foot. The asteroid appears to emit large amounts of light, causing scientists to believe that it is made out of metal. As Dr. Elkins-Taton said, “Humankind has visited rocky worlds and icy worlds and worlds made of gas, but we have never seen a metal world.” Many scientists believe that Psyche is the nickel-iron core of a small planet that was destroyed in the universe’s early history. Analyze of Psyche may allow scientists to learn more about the Earth’s core. Psyche, the spacecraft, is planned to be launched in 2023 to reach Psyche, the asteroid, in 2030. The spacecraft will orbit the asteroid for 20 months. The other major mission set to begin in the 2020s is the spacecraft Lucy. Lucy is set to depart in 2021 and fly by six asteroids before completing her mission in 2033. Her targets are the Trojans, asteroids that have been captured by Jupiter’s gravity. Both of these spacecrafts are part of NASA’s Discovery Program. Lucy and Psyche are capped at a price of $450 million each.
Scientists believe that they projects, specifically Psyche, will help us to learn about the origins and the creation of Earth. As expert Harold F. Levison said, “We believe that’s telling something about how the solar system formed and evolved. The small bodies are really the fossils of planet formation.” With current knowledge about the origins of Earth remaining scarce, these missions could help scientists to understand the Earth’s history better. This knowledge could help aid scientists in their exploration into the Earth’s core and could help discover how much of the solar system was formed.
Overall, the article was very well-written, however, there were areas that could have been improved. I liked how the article identified why the Psyche asteroid is special and why we are exploring it. I also liked how the article included many quotes from experts who explained why these missions were so important. However, I wish the article had explained more what scientists could do with the knowledge of the Earth’s history. I would be interested to hear what would be done after these missions were completed. Also, I wish the article had talked about what specifically Psyche, the spacecraft, would done on the asteroid. This would have made the missions seem more important and realistic. Overall, however, I enjoyed the article and was able to learn a lot about NASA’s upcoming missions and their importance.
ReplyDeleteChang, Kenneth. "A Metal Ball the Size of Massachusetts That NASA Wants to Explore." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Jan. 2017. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.
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Margot wrote an excellent response to the article “A Metal Ball the Size of Massachusetts That NASA Wants to Explore” by Kenneth Chang. She did an amazing of beginning her current event report by including physical details of the asteroid Psyche. These include it’s massive size as shown through her comparison to the state of Massachusetts and the fact that the asteroid emits large amounts of light. By including this information, the reader is better able to visualize the asteroid and understand the importance of the mission to explore it. Margot took two quotes from the original article that perfectly explained the importance of the spacecraft Psyche’s voyage. The first quote from Dr. Elkins-Taton describes that this investigation of a metal world will be an impressive first for humankind and the second one from Harold F. Levison describes the importance of the mission to understanding the formation of the solar system and Earth. I also agree with Margot that the author should have explained what scientists and humanity can do with this new information concerning Earth’s origins. In this way, the article would have fully addressed the significance of the topic.
Although Margot wrote a thorough and well-written current event report, there are two areas that could be improved. The first is that at the end of her summary paragraph she writes that both Lucy and Psyche have a maximum price limit of $450 million each, but she does not provide a deeper explanation of the importance of this number. I am curious to learn how this number compares to past missions, if the price cap might limit the abilities of the spacecraft, and how others are reacting to such a large amount of money being spent on space exploration. I also think that Margot could have explained specifically what Psyche will be doing on the asteroid to gain the valuable information, so that the reader could better understand how the spacecrafts function and gain a better understanding of the whole process.
After reading her response to the New York Times published article, I am now more aware of two of NASA’s future missions into space. I have also learned about the planned journeys and discoveries of Psyche and Lucy and the important information that they will potentially return with. This topic is extremely important as it pertains to the origins of our planet and the entire solar system, so I will be awaiting the results eagerly.
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