The mission to explore a metallic asteroid could launch in October 2023.

The agency announced on October 28 that after months of scrutiny, an independent review board has decided it’s possible to move forward with the Psyche mission — humanity’s first venture to a metallic asteroid, 16 Psyche.

What’s New – The Psyche mission is now on track to launch in October 2023, which means it could reach its namesake destination in August 2029 after a gravity-assist swing past Mars in 2026. In the meantime, the mission team is testing the spacecraft’s flight software, something that became a sticking point back in June when NASA realized that Psyche stood no chance of being ready in time for its original mid-October 2022 launch date.

European Space Agency · The scary sound of Earth’s magnetic field

The resulting five-minute audio includes eerie creaks and crackling sounds, as well as deep breathing-like sounds that listeners on social media described as “petrifying” and “spine tingling freaky.”

Since the discovery was revealed on October 24, loudspeakers at Solbjerg Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, have broadcasted the recording three times a day. Plans are to continue playing it each day at 8 a.m., 1 p.m., and 7 p.m. through October 30.

Scientists think that nuanced hints called technosignatures could point them to life on other planets, including radio waves and pollution.

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, and it’s looking perky.