James Webb Telescope surprises. Metallic asteroid Psyche is rusty.

The space probe won’t reach its important destination until 2029. That’s why scientists are trying to learn as much as possible about this amazing object in the meantime. The more we know, the better we’ll be able to use all the instruments on board the probe when it reaches the asteroid.

Psyche is one of the largest asteroids in the main belt. At its widest point, it measures 279 kilometers (170 miles) in diameter. However, it is not its size but its chemical composition that has fascinated scientists for years. The asteroid is so massive that scientists suspect it is metallic. This in turn could point to a very unusual origin. One theory is that the object is actually part of the core of a planet that was destroyed in the early stages of the solar system. If so, we will have the opportunity of a lifetime to get a closer look at the material that typically lies thousands of kilometers beneath the surface of every planet.

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However, scientists from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have now looked at the asteroid in infrared light using the James Webb Space Telescope. Monitoring results Surprisingly. Scientists have observed minerals on the surface of the asteroid that can only form when in contact with water. Moreover, some data suggests that water ice is still present on the asteroid. So the question arises: where did it come from?

Scientists suggest that it is possible that water and hydrated minerals reached the surface of the asteroid as a result of collisions between the asteroid and comets or other asteroids. However, if water was part of Psyche from the beginning, this could mean a very different history for the asteroid than we currently think.

The chemical composition of an asteroid generally depends on where (distance from the Sun) it was formed early in the evolution of the planetary system. If water has always been present on the surface of an asteroid, it must have formed in the outer regions of the Solar System, at the so-called snow line, where the temperatures of the solar nebula were so low that volatile compounds formed solids. Only then could such an asteroid migrate to regions slightly closer to the Sun.

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However, the researchers stress that it didn’t have to be this way. We may still be dealing with an asteroid that is the remains of the core of a planet that no longer exists. This can be indicated by the fact that the hydrated minerals are not evenly distributed across the surface of the asteroid, but are only found in a few places. This could mean that the water actually comes from the asteroids that collided with Psyche.

Either way, Psyche is still a very interesting object, perhaps rusting here and there, but ultimately holding up well. In five years, when the Psyche probe reaches its namesake asteroid, we’ll see all this up close. There’s a good chance scientists will be able to solve the mystery of the asteroid’s origin.