A Southwest Research Institute-led team has used data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to confirm the presence of hydroxyl molecules on the surface of the metallic asteroid Psyche. This discovery suggests a complex history for Psyche, which is important context for the NASA spacecraft that is currently en route to the asteroid. Psyche, which is about 140 miles in diameter, is one of the most massive objects in the main asteroid belt and is believed to be a dense, largely metallic object that could be a leftover core from a planet that experienced a catastrophic collision.
The Psyche spacecraft was launched by NASA on October 13, 2023, and is traveling 2.2 billion miles to arrive at the asteroid in August 2029. The team led by Southwest Research Institute used telescopes at different wavelengths of infrared light to provide complementary information to what the Psyche spacecraft is designed to study. The lead author of the research paper, Dr. Stephanie Jarmak from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, conducted much of the research while at SwRI. The data from the Webb telescope point to hydroxyl and possibly water on Psyche’s surface, which could have originated from external sources such as impactors.
The presence of hydrated minerals on Psyche’s surface could have important implications for our understanding of solar system evolution. The hydrated minerals could have resulted from external sources such as impactors or could be native to Psyche, suggesting a different evolutionary history than currently believed. The variability in the strength of the hydration features across the observations implies a heterogeneous distribution of hydrated minerals on Psyche’s surface, which could be explained by impacts from carbonaceous chondrite asteroids that are very hydrated.
The distribution of asteroids and their compositions can provide valuable insights into how materials in the solar nebula were distributed and have evolved since formation. Understanding how water is distributed in our solar system can also give us clues about the distribution of water in other solar systems and help guide the search for potential life. Water is essential for all life on Earth, so knowing where to look for it in our solar system and beyond is crucial. NASA’s Webb telescope, in partnership with the European and Canadian space agencies, is part of the Space Telescope Science Institute and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory responsible for mission management, operations, and navigation.