Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization

New Asteroid initiative ( German: New asteroid Initiative) is a planned NASA mission, with the captured an asteroid that brought close to the Earth and should be examined by astronauts. In fiscal year 2014, NASA invested 105 million U.S. dollars for the planning of the mission.

Planning

The Mission envisages far, to use already developed or available technologies; so are likely to run the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and Space Launch System. Project planning includes also expected the development of improved technologies for the discovery of asteroids, would be conceivable in the context of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program.

Mission Objectives

From a near-Earth orbit a small, a few meters by measuring asteroid to be captured. This is to be placed in a wide orbit, where it will serve as a target for manned missions to test, for example, the extraction of the sample material. The mission is also to be another milestone for a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s.

Functioning of the mission

A possible asteroid would be made out of Erdteleskopen - conceivable would be a celestial body of about 8 meters in diameter and with a mass of about 500 tons, if a suitable celestial body of this size can be so far been difficult to locate even with today's technologies.

According to the ideas of NASA experts 2017 years could launch a space probe to a suitable asteroid. The robotic probe to transport the asteroid could be equipped with an ion drive to achieve the required thrust that is required for transport in an Earth-Moon orbit. Once the spacecraft has reached the asteroid, according to preliminary plans, the scientists about 2019, a tubular structure to unfold. The probe is to be maneuvered so that the asteroid is fixed in the tube-like structure. Subsequently, the probe will affect the orbit of the asteroid so far as to maneuver him into a wide orbit around the Earth. The biggest challenge is the handling of such a massive object dar. In particular, the self-rotation of the celestial body within the snap hose must be intercepted. Then he shall be brought into a suitable orbit close to the Moon, so that the asteroid is not torn apart under the effects of atmosphere and gravity of the earth. If the maneuver can be completed successfully, the Rendevouzmanöver would be carried out with a manned spacecraft, provided future budget cuts not curtail the further development of carrier and spacecraft. The possible functioning of the mission, the NASA in a short video dar.

Others

As part of the New Asteroid initiative began in June 2013, "Asteroid Grand Challenge ". NASA invited other space organizations, academic and private institutions and the general public to make suggestions as detected potentially dangerous asteroids, classified and may be distracted. As part of the end of July 2013 ended ideas competition submitted 400 company representatives, scientists and private citizens proposals for the mission, which will be discussed at a workshop in September on. Lori Garver, the deputy director of NASA, praised the overwhelming participation, but also brought a fundamental problem and an objection of planetary scientist Jim Bell of Arizona State University for language that both the scientific community and the general public doubt planned at the Mission giving.

According to calculations of the asteroid expert Paul Chodas by NASA are small by about 10,000 asteroids near Earth just only 370 enough to be captured. Of these 370 possible candidates but would have only 14 a suitable orbit, and of these were only four asteroids sufficient known data on surface properties and rotational speed - the target of about eight to ten feet in diameter should be a maximum of two times a minute to yourself turn to avoid damage to the robot probe. With the reactivation of the Wide - Field Infrared Survey Explorer and the upgrade of two Teleskopanalgen in Hawaii at least 15 new candidates for the mission could be found in the next three to four years, so Chodas. Also could with the successful launch of the Gaia spacecraft in December 2013, the number of possible target objects rise considerably.

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