NASA to Host Psyche Principal Investigator April 4; Media Invited

	March 30, 2017  MEDIA ADVISORY M17-020 NASA to Host Psyche Principal Investigator April 4; Media Invited NASA's recently announced Psyche robotic mission will explore the asteroid Psyche, a massive metal asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Media are invited to hear from the mission's principal investigator, Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University, April 4 at 3 p.m. at the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville, Alabama.   Discovered in 1852, Psyche is made almost entirely of nickel-iron metal and is about three times farther away from the sun than Earth. The asteroid measures about 130 miles (210 kilometers) in diameter and is thought to be made of mostly metallic iron and nickel, similar to Earth's core. Scientists think Psyche may be the core of an early planet stripped of its rocky exterior by collisions, and could give insight into the violent collisions that created Earth and other terrestrial planets. The mission will help scientists understand how planets and other bodies separated into their layers – including cores, mantles and crusts – early in their histories. Elkins-Tanton will answer questions about the mission and what scientists hope to learn from the never-before-visited metal world. Media interested in attending should contact Shannon Ridinger in the Office of Communications at 256-541-7698 no later than 4 p.m. April 3. The Psyche mission is targeted to launch in October of 2023, arriving at the asteroid in 2030, following an Earth gravity assist spacecraft maneuver in 2024 and a Mars gravity assist in 2025. Psyche is part of the Discovery Program and is managed for NASA's Planetary Science Division by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Learn more about Psyche and NASA's Discovery Program here: https://discovery.nasa.gov
	Press Contacts Shannon Ridinger Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-541-7698 shannon.j.ridinger@xxxxxxxx
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