NASA Plans to Drag an Asteroid Into Lunar Orbit!

reply to post by Destinyone


Well, they're also talking about building a hovering "moon base". Weird for sure. I imagine it would be cheaper to build it ON the moon. Haha

Originally posted by eXia7
That's a lot of money to drag a relatively small rock to orbit around the moon.. I mean aren't there many other space missions that would be more beneficial than studying a 7m in diameter rock? That isn't an asteroid.. it's a meteorite..

Oooooh...may be. All the data already received on the rock, shows it's made of mostly rare minerals...like gold. Or, something even more valuable....The New Asteroid Bank of USA....

Des

reply to post by JayinAR


Travelling down to and away from an object of significant mass, eg. The earth or moon, requires much more energy as compared to an orbiting object.

That would make sense.

reply to post by JayinAR


Thanks for posting, JayinAR. These type of subject matters I find are always interesting. However, I get a little disheatened by what appears to be a real pull-back in Space Exploration.

Researchers with the Keck Institute for Space Studies in California have confirmed that NASA is mulling over their plan to build a robotic spacecraft to grab a small asteroid and place it in high lunar orbit. The mission would cost about $2.6 billion – slightly more than NASA's Curiosity Mars rover – and could be completed by the 2020s.

Comments such as 'mulling over', imply to me that not a lot of real planning has happened and the expected price tag of $2.6B, in today's dollars would only seem to grow more into the '2020's.

The project still needs some technical and scientific fine-tuning, says co-leader Louis Friedman of the Planetary Society, but he sees it as an important boost to exploration.

Then the article claims that "some technical and scientific fine-tuning" is required. That kind of statement, again leads me to believe not a lot of real planning has gone into this proposal.

Call me skeptical, but, since NASA terminated the Space Shuttle program, and the only way Astronauts can get into Space, specifically the ISS is through Russia's '60's based technology, I have been disappointed.

The disappointment grows when you think it has been over 40 years since man last went to the moon, landed, walked on it and returned back to earth. Since then we've had Hubble, Keck, and of course the Mars rovers, but, not having manned exploration (or apparently nothing seriously in the works), other than maybe some private contractors doing something, sometime, just leaves me a little empty.

Thats all I got! Peace!

Originally posted by Destinyone

Originally posted by eXia7
That's a lot of money to drag a relatively small rock to orbit around the moon.. I mean aren't there many other space missions that would be more beneficial than studying a 7m in diameter rock? That isn't an asteroid.. it's a meteorite..

Oooooh...may be. All the data already received on the rock, shows it's made of mostly rare minerals...like gold. Or, something even more valuable....The New Asteroid Bank of USA....

Des

Hey I'm all for making a floating asteroid bank, I can see it now, we just create an asteroid belt even closer around the earth, so we can mine for gold and other precious metals. Let's just hope our output doesn't exceed our intake. And lets hope they don't decide to all smash into the earth

It sounds to me like someone is taking the old "practice makes perfect" saying very seriously. Sometime in the future I believe most of us will still be around to see....they'll have to be perfect in doing this. At least once, they'll have to be able to do this again and I do hope they achieve that perfection in practice because the real thing won't forgive mistakes.. I wish them well on learning all they need to.

Interesting idea, but i say lets fix our
problems at home first. 2.4b or what ever that
price tag was would feed a lot of hungry people.

Let's get our house in order before we go buying new
toys.

Obama's idea was to try and figure if they could deflect an asteroid coming right at us. He said nothing about sticking one in orbit. Give those NASA Scientists a good idea and they make it dangerous and expensive.:shk:

I thought the Moon was a spaceship?
Maybe the 'Moon' will laser the rock and stick NASA in its orbit.
Yay!

I can think of 100's of reasons to do this but here are a few for those wondering what good it would do. 1. We would learn how to divert asterouds headed toward earth. 2. We woukd learn how to mine glod and ither resoyrces from asteroids. 3. It can be hollowed out and used as a space station cheaper than sending materials up there. 4. Could be used as a human spacecraft.

I think maybe there doing this because of asteroid Apophis?

Originally posted by rumor21


I think maybe there doing this because of asteroid Apophis?

The one that's supposed to near-miss in less than a year?

How does that make any sense when this project is merely being considered and has a completion time-frame of 6-10 years.



It doesn't.

No, I think the truth is that we're simply trying to learn how to do these kinda things, and need to monitor this operation to see where our theory and calculations may be a bit off. It may give us some insights into some physics "anomalies" which currently are unknowns and show signs of imperfections in current theory/law.

I don't think this has anything to do with that asteroid.

This is my 100th post on ATS!

I thought it would be appropriate to plant my 100th post in a thread that I like very much, so here it is.

Now, here is the actual content of this particular post:

1.) I would like to hear some more good reasons as to why it is worth-while to go ahead with this proposed plan of capturing an asteroid into the moon's orbit.

I have already seen the good reasons provided by user Xeven.
But he did say he could think of 100's.
Please Xeven, give us some more reasons.


2.) I would also like to hear some more reasons is to why it is a BAD idea.

I have already seen the objections in terms of cost, and safety.

reply to post by unityemissions


It's supposed to come very close in 2029 so the timing seems right. google it.
youtu.be...

Originally posted by Destinyone
What pocket is so overflowing with money, that it can be raided for this project. With our economy in the ditch, this is going to help...how....

Des

Consider asteroid mining.
www.mining.com...

Originally posted by rumor21


I think maybe there doing this because of asteroid Apophis?

That would be the one I was thinking of. The United States isn't the first nation in the last few years to float serious plans to manipulate asteroids in this very same way ..and I'll bet, for that very same reason. It's nowhere near big enough to be an ELE or anything of the sort. However, if you happen to be in a major city it landed on after coming it just right to land with enough mass to matter? Well... It'd sure be an ELE to you that day, wouldn't it?

I think they are looking at Apophis ...and also aware of how many are being found brand new now in a nonstop rush with the new tech Man has to find them. If it isn't that one...it *WILL* be another. Eventually, Earth is GOING to be hit again. History and math make that certainty. So absolutely I say. While they're printing trillions in funny money, they'd better be using some of it for worthwhile things, like this.

Originally posted by rumor21
reply to post by unityemissions

 

It's supposed to come very close in 2029 so the timing seems right. google it.
youtu.be...

My bad. I had that asteroid confused with another which is being mentioned recently a bit on ATS.

That asteroid doesn't stand a chance against humanity in 2029.

Stupid rock.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
While they're printing trillions in funny money, they'd better be using some of it for worthwhile things, like this.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I'm not for government "feeding the poor" (teach a man to fish...) but regardless of whether you are or aren't, you should support space exploration so that we can one day master it to the point that we can defend against future impact threats - otherwise there may come the day that there's no one to feed because we're all dead.

At best right now we could attempt to divert an impactor if we had years of lead time. For smaller impactors that can cause regional devastation we may not get that much lead time (days or hours at best in some cases), or in the exceptionally rare case of a major comet impact we'd have months to a year or so warning at best and there'd be nothing we could do to stop it.

Originally posted by Destinyone
What pocket is so overflowing with money, that it can be raided for this project. With our economy in the ditch, this is going to help...how....

Des

Just wanted to echo that sentiment... I'm all for space exploration, and whole heartedly believe that Eric Idle said it best when he sang, "And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's bugger all down here on Earth.", but holy crap the billions of dollars they are going to tow that rock around with could be spent hiring guards for schools or feeding people. The priorities of the ruling class.. how disgusting.

Perhaps I am missing something, but, it seems like we still have a lot of work to do before we start pushing some asteroids around. Although it would be pretty cool if/when we could. However, I guess I am a little pessimistic when I see stuff like this, and this is in November 2012.


The Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft is seen shortly after it landed with the International Space Station (ISS) crew of Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams near the town of Arkalyk in northern Kazakhstan November 19, 2012. (Reuters/Maxim Shipenkov)

Does this look like we've come far enough to move and asteroid?

In this NASA November 18, 2012 released photo shows the Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA (R), and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko of ROSCOSMOS (Russian Federal Space Agency), and Akihiko Hoshide (L) of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), sit in chairs outside the Soyuz Capsule just minutes after they landed in a remote area outside the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on November 19, 2012.

Just sayin'