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.
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 Daniel Peterschmidt
@dpeterschmidtDaniel Peterschmidt is a digital producer and composes music for Science Friday’s podcasts, including Science Diction and Undiscovered. Their D&D character is a clumsy bard named Chip Chap Chopman.