In a new scientific study that premiered, it revealed details of an asteroid rich in precious metals, in a step that will help to figure out what forms metals take in that celestial object.

In 2017, the US space agency NASA uncovered an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt region, about 370 million kilometers from Earth.

The asteroid consists of various minerals, most notably iron, nickel and a number of other rare minerals, including gold, platinum and copper, and NASA has named the asteroid Psyche.

The Agency estimated the value of the precious metals from which the asteroid forms to be approximately $10,000 quadrillion (quadrillion: A number worth almost a million billion.

The United States Agency intends to launch a probe into this asteroid next year (2022), to be reached in 2026.

The new study, published by researchers at the Planetary Science Scientific Journal, helps to give a closer look at this asteroid, which is about 200 kilometres long, in preparation for the space mission.

The study revealed that the amount of heat radiated by the asteroid was 60 percent less than thought, meaning that the asteroid suffered from thermal inertia.

Thermal emission there is affected by the presence of metals on the surface of the celestial body, so scientists believe that metals make up at least 30 percent of the surface.

Thermal emission analysis helped to figure out the shape of the metal there more or less, especially on the surface that appeared more smooth and solid.