NASA is set to launch a mission towards an asteroid known as Psyche 16 that could change life as we know it.
The mysterious rock contains gold and is believed to be loaded with platinum, iron and nickel.
The estimated worth of Psyche 16’s metals is worth an eye-watering $15,590 quadrillion, enough to make every single person on Earth a billionaire.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid is unique as it appears to be ‘the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet’, one of the ‘building blocks’ of our solar system.
“Deep within rocky, terrestrial planets - including Earth - scientists infer the presence of metallic cores, but these lie unreachably far below the planets' rocky mantles and crusts,” NASA explains on its website.
“Because we cannot see or measure Earth's core directly, Psyche offers a unique window into the violent history of collisions and accretion that created terrestrial planets.”
The rock has been known for quite some time, but Scott Moore, head of EuroSun Mining, explained the sheer amount of gold in the asteroid could throw the gold industry into chaos.
"The 'Titans of Gold' now control hundreds of the best-producing properties around the world," he told Oil Price.
"But the 4-5 million ounces of gold they bring to the market every year pales in comparison to the conquests available in space."
NASA is launching a probe mission in 2023, barring any complications, to further study and observe the asteroid in hopes of a future mining mission.
