Credit: Carrie Martin
A prototype gamma-ray spectrometer designed and built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers is shown with a meteorite, part of an asteroid that fell to Earth in 1922. Lab scientists are making test measurements on the largely iron and nickel meteorite because it is composed of material similar to what is expected to be found on an asteroid known as 16 Psyche located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. LLNL scientists are working with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to build a gamma-ray spectrometer for a 2022 NASA Discovery mission to Psyche. The meteorite, which was discovered in Odessa, Texas, is from the University of New Mexico meteorite collection.