NASA to explore asteroid made of $10,000 quadrillion worth of metal

NASA recently announced it's latest endeavor: Explore a giant metal asteroid the size of Massachusetts.

Made up of mostly nickel and iron, the giant hunk of space metal is about three times further away from the Sun than Earth.

STRIKING RESEMBLANCE: Saturn moon looks like 'Star Wars' Death Star in NASA image

Enticingly, the mission's lead scientist has put a price tag of $10,000 quadrillion on the asteroid, known as "16 Psyche."

PHOTOS: Mars settlements By 2030, NASA is planning to study "16 Psyche," a massive metal asteroid which could reveal information about planet formation. Click through to see what architects think the first settlements on Mars will look like. less PHOTOS: Mars settlements By 2030, NASA is planning to study "16 Psyche," a massive metal asteroid which could reveal information about planet formation. Click through to see what architects think the first ... more Photo: Arizona State University/NASA Photo: Arizona State University/NASA Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close NASA to explore asteroid made of $10,000 quadrillion worth of metal 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

But NASA isn't there to pad it's budget for the fiscal year. Instead, it will study the possibility of Psyche being a "protoplanet," or the exposed core of an early planet.

Scientists believe Psyche may have once been a planet the size of Mars, but after a number of massive collisions, its outer layers were stripped away, leaving only the metal asteroid we know it as today.

UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE: What the Earth and moon look like from Mars

"This is an opportunity to explore a new type of world - not one of rock or ice, but of metal," said Psyche Principal Investigator Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University in Tempe in a news release. "16 Psyche is the only known object of its kind in the solar system, and this is the only way humans will ever visit a core. We learn about inner space by visiting outer space."

By studying Psyche, astronomers hope to understand the building blocks of planet formation. NASA plans to launch a robotic mission to the metal world in October of 2023 and arrive in 2030.

Click through above to see what architects think Mars' first settlements will look like.

Check out the video above to see NASA's other mind-blowing asteroid mission.