News Planetary Science

Metal asteroids may have once had iron-spewing volcanoes

An upcoming NASA mission could look for signs of past ‘ferrovolcanism’ on asteroid Psyche

asteroid cross-section illustration

FULL METAL ASTEROID  Long ago, molten iron could have erupted from the metal asteroid Psyche (illustrated in cross section) in a process dubbed ferrovolcanism, new studies suggest.

Elena Hartley

By Lisa Grossman

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Planetary Science

  1. illustration of spacecraft on Europa
    Space

    How future spacecraft might handle tricky landings on Venus or Europa

    By Lisa Grossman
  2. Hayabusa2’s sample return capsule
    Space

    Hayabusa2’s asteroid dirt may hold clues to the early solar system

    By Lisa Grossman
  3. Murchison meteorite fragment
    Planetary Science

    50 years ago, scientists caught their first glimpse of amino acids from outer space

    By Maria Temming
  4. Geminid meteor shower
    Space

    December’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid

    By Ken Croswell
  5. team members of China’s Chang’e-5 mission celebrating the spacecraft’s launch
    Planetary Science

    China is about to collect the first moon rocks since the 1970s

    By Lisa Grossman
  6. farm on Mars, illustrated
    Planetary Science

    Farming on Mars will be a lot harder than ‘The Martian’ made it seem

    By Maria Temming
  7. illustration of Mars surface
    Planetary Science

    Chemical reactions high in Mars’ atmosphere rip apart water molecules

    By Lisa Grossman
  8. bluish illustration of surface of Europa
    Space

    Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may glow in the dark

    By Maria Temming

From the Nature Index

Paid Content