Posted on 02/11/2014 2:46:31 PM PST by 12th_Monkey
The results of a workshop to find the best ways to find, track and deflect asteroids headed for Earth were released by NASA on Friday (Feb. 7).
NASA's Asteroid Initiative, started in 2013, includes a mission to capture a small near-Earth asteroid and drag it into a stable orbit around the moon, and a challenge to devise the best ideas for detecting and defending against potentially dangerous asteroids.
The agency put out a request for information to refine the objectives of the Asteroid Initiative, to generate other mission concepts and increase participation in the mission and planetary defense.
NASA received an enthusiastic response, including from the general public. The agency evaluated the ideas it received and chose 96 of them to explore further at a two-part workshop at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 30 and Nov. 20 to 22, 2013.
"We are already acting on the ideas submitted through the [request] process," NASA said in a statement.
For example, the agency reactivated the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft, now known as NEOWISE, in Sept. 2013, to look for near-Earth asteroids that could be targets for the Asteroid Redirect Mission.
The workshop report also recommended holding more forums to get citizens involved in the Asteroid Initiative and create incentives to reach milestones in the asteroid mission and grand challenge.
The Asteroid Redirect Mission aims to capture a 23- to 33-foot (7 to 10 meters) asteroid, or a 1- to 33-foot. (1 to 10 m) boulder on a space rock, then haul it into lunar orbit using an unmanned spacecraft. Astronauts could then visit the asteroid using NASA's Orion crew capsule and Space Launch System rocket, bring samples of the rock down to Earth.
The Grand Challenge seeks to identify all asteroids that could pose a threat to humanity and boost NASA's current planetary defense efforts.
As a whole, the Asteroid Initiative aims to combine NASA's efforts in human space exploration, space technology and space science to achieve the first human mission to rendezvous with asteroid material and to improve our ability to track and prevent potential asteroid impacts.
see link for a short video
I’d be satisfied if they could figure out how to defend the country from Democrats...
We should be doing this. And then we gather enough information to use an asteroid as a kinetic weapon muahahaha!!
Let’s look to the Japanese, we could get Gigantor, AstroBoy, Voltron, the Power Rangers, or we could kind of stick to reality.
I say our best bet is to hide behind the moon until it has passed.
Nuke it.
Duh.
"to find a way to reach out to the Asteroid world and engage much more with dominantly larger Groups of Asteroids to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science ... and math and engineering."
I say our best bet is to hide behind the moon until it has passed. Yes, I know that the earth is bigger than the moon, but if we crouch down....
Not so sure about grabbing one and hauling into a stable orbit.
/mark
So they’re gonna grab one and try to bring it to the earth and land it in orbit. That gives a whole new meaning to Revelation 8.
With the moose-limb outreach in NASA I would imagine if an asteroid is coming you point your butt towards mecca and kiss your ass goodbye...
You forgot Tobor the 8th http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/1981/1981_Hansen_etal_1.pdf
Turn the would be asteroid miners loose and they’ll likely be the ones to get the contracts to protect the planet.
Take a planetary suppository. OH! NVM.
If you can nudge an asteroid out of our way, you can steer one into our way as well.
And with no nuclear fallout, it may seem a more desirable weapon than a nuke.
You must have a great deal of trust in whoever learns to do this, but once the genie is out of the bottle, you also have to trust whoever else gets this capability.
Rusty Griswold: Hey, ya’ got Pac Man?
Cousin Dale: No.
Rusty Griswold: Ya’ got Space Invaders?
Cousin Dale: Nope.
Rusty Griswold: Ya’ got Asteroids?
Cousin Dale: Naw, but my dad does. Can’t even sit on the toilet some days.
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