Washington : The U.S. space agency is planning for a robotic spaceship to capture a small asteroid and park it near the moon for astronauts to explore, a top senator disclosed on Friday.
The plan would speed up by four years the existing mission to land astronauts on an asteroid by bringing the space rock closer to Earth, Senator Bill Nelson said.
The robotic ship would capture the 500-ton, 25-foot (450 metric-ton, 7.6-meter) asteroid in 2019. Then using an Orion space capsule, now being developed, a crew of about four astronauts would nuzzle up next to the rock in 2021 for spacewalking exploration, according to a government document obtained by The Associated Press.
Nelson said this would help NASA develop the capability to nudge away a dangerous asteroid if one headed to Earth in the future. It also would be training for a future mission to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, he said.
Nelson, chairman of the Senate science and space subcommittee, said President Barack Obama is putting $100 million in planning money for the accelerated asteroid mission in the 2014 budget that comes out next week. The money would be used to find the right small asteroid.
"It really is a clever concept," Nelson said in a news conference in Florida, the state where NASA launches take place. "Go find your ideal candidate for an asteroid. Go get it robotically and bring it back."
While there are thousands of asteroids that size out there, finding the right one that comes by Earth at just the right time to be captured will not be easy, said Donald Yeomans, who heads NASA's Near Earth Object program that monitors close-by asteroids. He said once a suitable rock is found, it would be captured with the space equivalent of "a baggie with a drawstring. You bag it. You attach the solar propulsion module to de-spin it and bring it back to where you want it."
Yeomans said an asteroid of that size is no threat to Earth because it would burn up should it inadvertently enter Earth's atmosphere. The mission as Nelson described is perfectly safe, he said.
The government document said the mission, with no price tag at the moment, would inspire because it "will send humans farther than they have ever been before."
The plan would speed up by four years the existing mission to land astronauts on an asteroid by bringing the space rock closer to Earth, Senator Bill Nelson said.
The robotic ship would capture the 500-ton, 25-foot (450 metric-ton, 7.6-meter) asteroid in 2019. Then using an Orion space capsule, now being developed, a crew of about four astronauts would nuzzle up next to the rock in 2021 for spacewalking exploration, according to a government document obtained by The Associated Press.
Nelson, chairman of the Senate science and space subcommittee, said President Barack Obama is putting $100 million in planning money for the accelerated asteroid mission in the 2014 budget that comes out next week. The money would be used to find the right small asteroid.
Advertisement
While there are thousands of asteroids that size out there, finding the right one that comes by Earth at just the right time to be captured will not be easy, said Donald Yeomans, who heads NASA's Near Earth Object program that monitors close-by asteroids. He said once a suitable rock is found, it would be captured with the space equivalent of "a baggie with a drawstring. You bag it. You attach the solar propulsion module to de-spin it and bring it back to where you want it."
Advertisement
The government document said the mission, with no price tag at the moment, would inspire because it "will send humans farther than they have ever been before."
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
In Shocking Discovery, NASA Finds Invisible Electric Field Around Earth Boeing's Uncrewed Starliner Capsule Could Return After Sep 6, Says NASA NASA Researcher to Study Gravity’s Impact on Plants Aboard Blue Origin's Suborbital Rocket US Millionaire, Who Died By Suicide, Owed $34 Million With $8,000 In Bank Elderly Man Slapped, Abused On Train Over Suspicion Of Carrying Beef Manipur Chief Minister Slams Tejashwi Yadav Over "Racist" Jab At Himanta Sarma 8 Killed After Bus Carrying 47 Overturns In US State Of Mississippi: Report Trump "Disrespected Sacred Ground' At US Military Cemetery: Kamala Harris Top 10 US Universities Based On Forbes Rankings 2024 Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.