NASA Approves Psyche Mission to Explore Core of an Ancient Planet

NASA has greenlit a mission to explore the metal-heavy asteroid Psyche, which could represent the exposed core of a long-dead planet. The survival of the mission had previously been called into question following technical issues that forced it to miss its 2022 launch window.

In 1852 the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis discovered a roaming heavenly body traversing the night sky, which he named for the Greek goddess of the soul, Psyche.

Later telescope observations revealed that Psyche was in fact a 140-mile (226 km)-wide asteroid with a high metal content, that orbited in the main asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Psyche’s metal-heavy makeup — which accounts for somewhere between 30 - 60 percent of its total mass — set it apart from the rest of the million-plus asteroids that are known to roam our solar system. Many astronomers now believe that the strange body may be the exposed nickel-iron core of an ancient primordial planet, the outer layers of which were blasted off during a series of ancient collisions with other young planetoids.

If this were to be the case, Psyche would represent a unique opportunity to explore the core of a world born in the chaotic environment that was thought to prevail in the space around our young star billions of years ago.

Ordinarily, it would be impossible to make direct observations of a planet’s core. Earth’s metal-dominated heart, for example, is locked away some 3,000 km (1,800 miles) below the surface in a phenomenally high-pressure environment, which has a temperature of around 5,000°C (9,000°F). These are not ideal conditions for scientific study.

Therefore, despite the fact that it is orbiting the Sun in the hostile environment of interplanetary space, Psyche’s exposed core seems almost too good to be true. By observing the planetary remnant, astronomers could gain insights into the formation of the mighty planets of the solar system, including Earth and the multitude of distant exoplanets that have been discovered to date.

In 2017, NASA announced its intention to send an uncrewed probe to rendezvous with and explore the alien world. The spacecraft will be powered by two solar panels — which together give the probe an impressive wingspan of 81 ft (25 meters).

Alongside running the suite of scientific instruments mounted aboard the probe, the electricity generated by the panels will also be used to convert xenon gas into xenon ions, which can then be fired out of the rear of the spacecraft to provide thrust.

The Psyche mission is currently progressing through rigorous testing prior to its eventual launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

However, the road to launch has been anything but smooth. Psyche missed its initial 2022 launch date thanks to a series of technical setbacks, including issues with the probe’s flight control software. These problems were so severe that both an internal review and an independent probe were established to examine the technical issues surrounding the mission and to see whether it was still viable.

The findings of the independent review are still being finalized and will be made available to the public at a later date.

However, on Oct. 10, NASA announced that the mission would not be scrapped after all and that instead, the agency was aiming to launch the robotic spacecraft as soon as Oct. 10 next year. The mission has a lifetime budget of $985 million US dollars, of which over $717 million has already been spent.

If all goes well during the October 2023 launch, the lonely probe will travel through interplanetary space for around three years before using the gravity of Mars to radically alter its trajectory in 2026. Assuming this is a success, mission operators expect the probe to rendezvous with the asteroid Psyche in August 2029.

“I appreciate the hard work of the independent review board and the JPL-led team toward mission success,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “The lessons learned from Psyche will be implemented across our entire mission portfolio. I am excited about the science insights Psyche will provide during its lifetime and its promise to contribute to our understanding of our own planet’s core.”

Stay tuned to IGN’s Science page to stay up to date with the weird and wonderful world of science.

Anthony Wood is a freelance science writer for IGN

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State Univ./Space Systems Loral/Peter Rubin

Ghostbusters VR Gets Official Title, and Release Window

Sony Pictures VR officially announced the official title and release window for its upcoming Ghostbusters VR game.

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is slated to launch in 2023 for the Meta Quest 2 and PlayStation VR2. The game was initially announced back in April during Meta's Gaming Showcase as a surprise announcement to wrap up the show.

Set in San Francisco, players run their own ghost-busting business. As noted in the press release, players will have the chance to play solo or with up to three friends as they try and "stop the powerful Ghost Lord and his band of malevolent ghosts from causing chaos" through San Francisco.

Sony Pictures VR confirmed to IGN that the upcoming Ghostbusters game will not be a direct sequel to the 2021 film Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Instead, the publisher explained that it was "really important" for the game's developer, nDreams, to "move forward and create a whole storyline."

While nothing firm outside of a 2023 release window has been announced, the game will release the same year Sony's second generation VR headset, PlayStation VR2, will release.

In August, Sony confirmed that it will launch the PSVR2 in early 2023. While the Meta Quest 2 is showing its age, we do know that the newly-announced (and costly) Quest Pro was announced a few weeks back. While it is designed to focus on work and productivity, it is compatible with the Meta Quest 2 library.

Meta has also confirmed that the gamer-focused Quest 3 will release next year and might also include backward compatibility for Quest 2 games.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

The Batman Penguin Spinoff Plot Details Revealed, Female Lead Cast

Cristin Milioti has joined HBO Max's Penguin spinoff of The Batman, where she will play Sofia Falcone.

Deadline first reported the casting news, saying Milioti's Sofia Falcone is the daughter of Carmine Falcone, and will fight with The Penguin for control of the city. Fans will have recently seen different iterations of Sofia Falcone in both Gotham and Batman: The Long Halloween.

Milioti is known for appearing in How I Met Your Mother as the titular mother, as well as 2020's Palm Springs, HBO Max's Made for Love, and Peacock's The Resort.

The Penguin spinoff on HBO Max is coming from The Batman director Matt Reeves, as one of a handful of planned Batman villain spinoffs. Milioti will star alongside Colin Farrell's Penguin, who is thrilled to return to the character following The Batman.

Farrell recently shared a few details about the Penguin show, saying it begins "about a week after the film The Batman ends, so Gotham is still somewhat underwater... I read the first script for the first episode, and it opens up with my feet splashing through the water in Falcone's office. Even just that alone, I read it, I was like, 'Oh, jeez.'"

In a time of great change for DC, The Batman universe appears to be safe. In addition to the Penguin show, The Batman 2 appears to be moving ahead with Reeves. We'll have to see if the plan for future The Batman projects changes at all now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are taking over the reorganized DC Studios.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Image Credit: (Photo by: David Yeh/Peacock via Getty Images)

No, Daniel Radcliffe Is Not the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Wolverine

Daniel Radcliffe has shut down the idea that he might succeed Hugh Jackman as the next Wolverine in the X-Men movies, labelling recent speculation as "purely a press tour rumor."

In a new interview with GQ magazine, Radcliffe addressed the latest round of Wolverine casting rumors, admitting that he hasn't always helped speculation. He said his responses during press tours have sometimes fuelled the X-Men buzz, but ultimately, he isn't looking to get his claws stuck into a role that he could get "locked" into for a long time.

"It's purely a press tour rumor; I say something, and then occasionally I get bored of answering that way so I say something different, and that sets it off again. I should just never open my mouth," Radcliffe observed, later adding, "I just don't ever want to get locked into something that I am not sure I will be able to love the same amount the whole time."

Rumors that Radcliffe could be playing the next Wolverine have been swirling for years, but he has repeatedly denied claims that he is taking over the role in the MCU. The actor told The View in March that speculation fires up because "Wolverine is short, so every so often they're like, 'Who's a short actor?' There's never been any actual truth to it.

"Every so often I get bored of answering the questions sensibly," he admitted to the hosts of the ABC talk show. "So I just make a joke like I did the other day and that sort of has reignited the rumors of it, but there's nothing going on."

Radcliffe might not be suiting up as Wolverine any time soon, but Jackman is ready to return to the role again. He last played Wolverine in 2017's Logan, publicly stating at the time that it would be his last film as the clawed superhero. He has since revealed that he is reprising the role for Deadpool 3 — we just hope he's wearing the character's classic yellow suit.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

IKEA Sends Cease and Desist to Indie Dev Making Furniture Store Survival Game

Ikea has sent a cease and desist letter to the developer of The Store is Closed, an indie survival game about spending the night in a furniture store.

As reported by Kotaku, lawyers representing Ikea have accused solo developer Jacob Shaw of committing trademark infringement and have given him ten days to change parts of his game that allegedly represent Ikea branding.

This includes a blue and yellow sign, a Scandinavian name (STYR), yellow vertical striped shirts, a grey path on the floor, and some furniture. "All the foregoing immediately suggest that the game takes place in an Ikea store", the lawyers' letter said.

No reference to Ikea exists on The Store is Closed's Steam or Kickstarter pages, however, and Shaw maintains that he wasn't inspired by Ikea for the game's furniture as he bought a generic furniture asset pack that can be used in any game. The Ikea lawyers also cite press outlets and online commentators for drawing a comparison between his game and Ikea.

The letter continued: The "unauthorized use of the IKEA indicia constitutes unfair competition and false advertising under Sections 43(a) of the U.S. Trademark Act, 15 U.S. C § 1125(a), and state unfair competition and false advertising laws.

"You can of course easily make a video game set in a furniture store that does not look like, or suggest, an IKEA store. You can easily make changes to your game to avoid these problems, especially since you do not plan to release the game until 2024."

Shaw has indicated that he plans to make the changes to The Store is Closed, but is seeking legal advice himself. "I was going to spend the last week of my Kickstarter preparing an update for all the new alpha testers," Shaw told Kotaku. "But now I’ve got to desperately revamp the entire look of the game so I don’t get sued."

Though Shaw is just one developer, the entertainment has proven that any company, no matter how big, is at threat of being sued for copyright infringement. Cheats website AimJunkies is being sued by Bungie for implementing cheats in Destiny 2, while Paramount is being sued over its ownership (or lack thereof) of Top Gun: Maverick.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Marvel and EA Sign Three-Game Deal, Starting With Iron Man

Marvel has entered an agreement with FIFA and Battlefield publisher EA to make at least three action adventure video games based on the Marvel comics.

As reported by Bloomberg, this deal will begin with the previously announced Iron Man game from EA Motive, with all three games coming to consoles and PC. Though details about what's coming after Iron Man are still thin, each game will feature its own original story set in the Marvel universe.

Perhaps known more for its sports or traditional shooter games, EA is looking to increase its offerings with the Marvel deal. "We have an intentional, deliberate strategy to have a balanced portfolio," said chief operating officer Laura Miele. "There will be Marvel fans who don’t play other EA games."

It's unclear if the second and third game will be centred on different Marvel characters like The Hulk or Thor or if they'll be follow-ups to the Iron Man game, similar to what Insomniac did with Spider-Man, its spin-off Miles Morales, and upcoming sequel.

Nothing about a release schedule or single versus multiplayer focus was mentioned either, though we do know that EA Motive's Iron Man is a "single player, action-adventure game".

EA Motive is the developer behind the upcoming Dead Space remake and has previously worked on the likes of Star Wars: Squadrons and Star Wars: Battlefront 2, but we'll just have to wait and see which other studios are involved with the remaining two Marvel projects.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

DC’s Stargirl Cancelled After 3 Seasons

DC's Stargirl has been cancelled and will end with its current third season, which is scheduled to air its finale on December 7.

According to Deadline, the team behind DC's Stargirl had an early heads-up that the series would not continue beyond its third season, so they could wrap up the story in the script room. The remaining episodes of Stargirl will continue to air on Wednesdays through December 7, with creator Geoff Johns promising "complete creative closure" at the end.

"Stargirl has always held a special place in my heart for many reasons," Johns explained in a statement on Monday. "With all the brewing changes at the network, we were aware this was possibly the last season, so we wrote with that in mind and have delivered what I believe to be the best season of Stargirl yet, with complete creative closure.

"The cast and crew are extraordinary, and I'd like to thank them for helping me bring this series to life," he added. "Brec embodied Courtney in every way possible — with grace, strength and humor — exceeding my wildest expectations. I am grateful to WBTV and The CW for giving us a home to tell this story and to honor my beloved late sister, and I'm beyond thankful to the press and fans who have always championed us for three amazing seasons. Most series never get this far. We couldn't be more proud of our show and the fan community it's built!"

Lead star Brec Bassinger added, "Getting to play Stargirl and be a part of the DC Universe has been the greatest honor, and I am so grateful for every moment of it. I would like to thank our fearless leader Geoff Johns, along with WBTV, The CW, the cast and crew of Stargirl, and of course, the fans. Thank you. This show will forever live in my heart."

The cancellation of Stargirl comes less than a month after Nexstar Media Group completed its acquisition of The CW from co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, who have each retained a 12.5% ownership interest in the network, while Nexstar has taken a 75% majority stake of the company — which is now headed up by Dennis Miller.

Stargirl is the latest series to be axed after Nexstar reportedly indicated that it was going shift The CW's demographic by moving towards unscripted content and shows. Other cancellations at The CW include DC's Batwoman, The Flash, Riverdale, Nancy Drew, and Legends of Tomorrow, which was cancelled after seven seasons and more than 100 episodes.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Amsterdam Hotel Featured In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Is Unhappy With ‘Unwanted Involvement’

The real world Amsterdam hotel featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is not happy with its "unwanted involvement" in the first person shooter from Activision Blizzard.

As reported by de Volkskrant (and translated by PC Gamer), the manager of the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam said the business is currently considering how to deal with its near-exact recreation in Modern Warfare 2's Tradecraft level and Breenbergh Hotel multiplayer map.

"We have taken note of the fact that the Conservatorium Hotel is undesirably the scene of the new Call of Duty," said manager Roy Tomassen. "More generally, we don't support games that seem to encourage the use of violence. The game in no way reflects our core values ​​and we regret our apparent and unwanted involvement."

The hotel is still considering what steps to take next but gave no indication as to its plans, whether it be legal action, something else, or nothing at all. IGN has reached out to Activision Blizzard for comment.

The Conservatorium Hotel (called the Breenbergh Hotel in-game) is one part of a much larger Amsterdam level that recreates several streets and locations from the real city, though it is obviously the sole focus of the multiplayer map of the same name.

In our 6/10 review of the game's single player, IGN said: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is a lackluster follow-up to its refined predecessor, saved by its best-in-class shooting."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Phil Spencer Admits It’s Been Too Long Since Xbox Had a Major First Party Exclusive

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted it's been too long since a major first party exclusive game landed on the Xbox Series X and S.

Speaking to Same Brain on YouTube, Spencer said he understands why players are frustrated at the lack of major Xbox-only games - with last year's Halo Infinite arguably being the most recent - but noted that 2023 is set to be a big year for the company.

"One thing we've definitely heard loud and clear is that it's been too long since we've shipped what people would say is a big first party game," Spencer said. "We could have our excuses on Covid and other things, but in the end I know people invest in our platform and they want to have great games."

He continued: "We're excited about 2023. We've talked about games that are coming, and those games are tracking well. Getting our first real Xbox first party games out of Bethesda, having them ship Redfall and Starfield, will be a lot of fun."

Forza Motorsport 8 is also expected to be released in spring 2023, adding to Xbox's line-up for the year and returning to the simulator-based series for the first time since 2017.

The current lack of first party games, however, was noted in particular after the delay of the aforementioned Starfield - the massive space RPG from the studio behind Skyrim and Fallout - which was pushed back alongside Arkane's open world shooter Redfall.

While Xbox does have some console exclusives this holiday period, such as the foul-mouthed talking weapon shooter High on Life, it's perhaps missing a blockbuster title to compete with the likes of PlayStation's God of War: Ragnarok and Nintendo's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Phil Spencer Admits It’s Been Too Long Since Xbox Had a Major First Party Exclusive

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has admitted it's been too long since a major first party exclusive game landed on the Xbox Series X and S.

Speaking to Same Brain on YouTube, Spencer said he understands why players are frustrated at the lack of major Xbox-only games - with last year's Halo Infinite arguably being the most recent - but noted that 2023 is set to be a big year for the company.

"One thing we've definitely heard loud and clear is that it's been too long since we've shipped what people would say is a big first party game," Spencer said. "We could have our excuses on Covid and other things, but in the end I know people invest in our platform and they want to have great games."

He continued: "We're excited about 2023. We've talked about games that are coming, and those games are tracking well. Getting our first real Xbox first party games out of Bethesda, having them ship Redfall and Starfield, will be a lot of fun."

Forza Motorsport 8 is also expected to be released in spring 2023, adding to Xbox's line-up for the year and returning to the simulator-based series for the first time since 2017.

The current lack of first party games, however, was noted in particular after the delay of the aforementioned Starfield - the massive space RPG from the studio behind Skyrim and Fallout - which was pushed back alongside Arkane's open world shooter Redfall.

While Xbox does have some console exclusives this holiday period, such as the foul-mouthed talking weapon shooter High on Life, it's perhaps missing a blockbuster title to compete with the likes of PlayStation's God of War: Ragnarok and Nintendo's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.