NASA’s Journey to the Metal World Psyche Could Usher in New Era of Exploration

In less than a month, NASA is scheduled to embark upon a series of firsts: The first journey to an unknown metallic asteroid, Psyche. The first deep space use of Hall effect thrusters, a hyper- efficient type of propulsion tech that allows for smaller, cost-effective spacecrafts. The first interplanetary mission launched from a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. And, finally, the first-ever deep space test of a new laser communication technology, which works by encoding information in photons, essentially using light — instead of radio waves — to send messages.