Facts About Asteroids That Rock

Which asteroid is made of metal, and which hides an ocean? The answers lie in our nifty asteroid trading cards.

In the next decade, NASA is sending two exciting new missions to visit some asteroids. The satellite Lucy will investigate two swarms of asteroids following the same orbit as Jupiter, with the planet sandwiched between them. These swarms could tell us about early solar system formation. And the Psyche mission will orbit an asteroid entirely made of metal, thought to be the leftover core of an early planet.

We’ve created this handy set of asteroid trading cards so you can learn all about the weird, wonderful rocky bodies these missions will be visiting — and more.

erosback


vestaback


psycheback


ceresback


trojan-asteroidsback


idaback


Eros image credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL

Vesta image credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Psyche image credit: ASU/Peter Rubin

Ceres image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Trojan asteroids image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Ida image credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute

Meet the Writer

About D. Peterschmidt

D. Peterschmidt is a producer, host of the podcast Universe of Art, and composes music for Science Friday’s podcasts. Their D&D character is a clumsy bard named Chip Chap Chopman.

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