There's an asteroid out there worth $100,000 quadrillion. And yes, NASA has aleady begun its journey

Asteroids can be potentially dangerous for the planet. However, they can also be worth a staggering $100,000 quadrillion. Yes, you read that right. There's an asteroid christened Psyche by scientists that is a treasure trove of rare elements as well as metal whose value has been estimated at a staggering $100,000 quadrillion. That’s many, many multiples of the entire world’s economy.

The asteroid was discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on March 17, 1852, who named it after the Greek Goddess of the soul. It is also referred to as 16 Psyche because it was the 16th asteroid to be discovered. The asteroid is worth so much because of the elements like platinum and palladium, which are crucial for many things like cars and other electronics. 

According to NASA, the composition of the potato-shaped asteroid which has a surface area of 64,000 square miles is between 30 and 60 percent metal. Experts believe that this asteroid is the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet which is one of the building blocks of our solar system. 

Using cutting-edge technology, scientists have generated a 3D model of the asteroid that suggests that there is significant variation in the metal content and color of the asteroid on the surface. While we do know quite a bit about the asteroid, nobody can tell for sure what it is actually made of. The asteroid currently orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter at a distance ranging from 235 million to 309 million miles (378 million to 497 million kilometers) from the Sun. This means that the distance is three times farther from the Sun than we are and it could take around 6 years to reach it from Earth. 

Back in October 2023, the space agency launched its first Psyche mission to reach the asteroid. However, scientists are not really motivated to mine gold but have the intention to learn more about the Earth's core and the cores of other rocky planets. It was also reported that the asteroid is most likely the remnants of multiple impacts which were common when the solar system was forming. "Psyche offers a unique window into the violent history of collisions and accretion that created terrestrial planets," said the Psyche mission webpage. 

Moreover, NASA is also trying to find out if the 280km (173 miles)--wide rock really is the core of a planetesimal. Speaking with  Live Science Philip Metzger, a planetary physicist says that the only difference between mining on Earth and on asteroids is that mining on asteroids requires equipment that can withstand low-gravity high-radiation conditions. The equipment also needs to be able to function autonomously since it could take more than 20 minutes for a radio wave containing instructions to reach it.

"The technologies need to be advanced — about a 6 to 7 — before we're ready to start building a flight mission," he added. "What's lacking right now is funding, " he said. However, scientists are pretty optimistic and say that they might see small-scale asteroid mining in five years.