Psyche: A Metal World

Students explore asteroid 16 Psyche, which may be a metal-rich exposed core of an early planet building block (an idea scientists are testing), and follow NASA's Psyche spacecraft, launched in October 2023 and pushed by solar electric propulsion toward a planned 2029 arrival.

Grades 5-8About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops8 stops

The full guide, with the 40-minute plan, discussion key points, exit ticket, activities, transcript and PDF, comes with a teacher license. Already licensed? Use Open the full guide.

What students will see and do

Students fly to asteroid 16 Psyche, back to Earth, to the live position of the Psyche spacecraft, to the Sun, to Mars, up to an overview of the solar system, and back to Psyche. Aetherion pauses three times: at Earth (studying an easier-to-reach object to learn about a hidden one), at the spacecraft (how a tiny push adds up over time), and at Psyche (why scientists write predictions before arrival).

Learning objectives

• Describe the layered structure of Earth and why its core cannot be sampled directly.
• Explain the leading idea that Psyche may be an exposed metal core, and name at least one alternative idea.
• Compare chemical rockets and solar electric propulsion.
• Identify what the spacecraft's instruments will measure and what each could reveal.

NGSS connections

Stops on this journey

1. A Strange Shining Asteroid
2. A Core You Cannot Visit (discussion stop)
3. Launch and Wide Wings
4. Power from Sunlight
5. The Blue Glow Thrusters (discussion stop)
6. A Boost from Mars
7. The Long Road Out
8. Arriving at a Metal World (discussion stop)

Vocabulary

• asteroid
• core
• mantle
• hypothesis
• solar electric propulsion
• xenon
• gravity assist
• magnetometer