Why NASA’s Latest Mission Is Worth More Than the Global Economy… And Could Make You a Billionaire?

If you thought winning the Powerball was your best shot at escaping the 9-to-5 grind like Hurley from “Lost”, NASA’s here to tell you to dream bigger (like, galactically bigger). 

Their latest target? A $10 quintillion asteroid named 16 Psyche. Yes, quintillion. That’s a 10 followed by so many zeroes it looks like someone fell asleep on the zero key.

The asteroid, 16 Psyche, is a potato-shaped chunk of metal hanging out in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This bad boy is packed with iron, nickel, platinum, and palladium. So why am I wasting time to talk about this? Well, the story is pretty insane. “Experts” say that if it was somehow hauled back to Earth, its value could hypothetically turn every single person into a billionaire overnight. Cue the collective Googling of "asteroid mining jobs" and Breaking Bad memes about quitting your day job.

Unlike most asteroids, which are more rock and ice than substance, Psyche is suspected to be the exposed core of an ancient planetesimal (I know this is way above our IQ ranges, just think of it as the solar system’s building block). At 173 miles across, it’s the cosmic equivalent of Smaug’s treasure hoard in The Hobbit (except this time, the dragon is a billion miles away, and the gold pile might actually break the global economy).

If you’re doing the math, dividing $10 quintillion by Earth’s population of about 8 billion gives each of us a hypothetical slice worth $1.25 billion. That’s enough to buy a mega yacht, a private island, or even, dare I say, some ground beef from the grocery store (yes, it’s gotten pretty high.)

All jokes aside, I did some internet detective work (with the help of the top economists) and found out that dropping that much wealth into the economy would make gold, platinum, and other precious metals lose their value overnight. And while it’s fun to dream about a world where everyone’s rich, remember: even with $1.25 billion, Elon Musk would still be roughly 250 times wealthier than you. Because of course he would.

NASA’s van-sized spacecraft is currently cruising at 84,000 mph (that’s 124,000 mph when it really hits its stride) on a 2.2 billion-mile journey to Psyche. It’ll slingshot past Mars in 2026 and arrive at the asteroid in 2029. Once there, it’ll spend 26 months studying Psyche’s surface, gravity, and magnetic field. 

While we’re years (maybe decades) away from figuring out how to mine asteroids like Psyche, the mission opens the door to a future where space resources might play a big role in our economy. For now, though, Psyche remains a $10 quintillion dream floating 2.2 billion miles away.

So, should you start saving for your intergalactic mining helmet? Not yet. But hey, at least you can tell your friends you’ve got your eye on a $10 quintillion investment opportunity the next time you end up bagholding another memestock.

PS: Our breaking alert had some massive swings throughout the day yesterday, and based on the short interest we’re seeing, we could see a squeeze before the market closes. Click here to access the ticker.

Stock.News does not have positions in companies mentioned.