NASA spacecraft launched to mysterious and rare metal asteroid in first mission of its kind

A NASA spacecraft has rocketed away on a six-year journey to a rare asteroid made of metal. SpaceX launched the Psyche spacecraft on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft is named for the metal-rich asteroid it's chasing, which scientists believe is the battered remains of an early planet's iron core. No one has ever explored a world with a metal surface before. Scientists hope it can shed light on the inaccessible centers of Earth and other rocky planets. The large, potato-shaped asteroid orbits the sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche should reach the asteroid in 2029.