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Nasa's mission orders come in: put astronauts on an asteroid within 15 years
Daily Mail ^ | 7/25/11 | Daily Mail Reporter

Posted on 07/25/2011 4:26:50 PM PDT by Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

With the space shuttle now history, Nasa's next great mission is so audacious, the agency's best minds are wrestling with how to pull it off.

They have presidential orders to to send astronauts to an asteroid in less than 15 years.

The challenges are innumerable, but many Nasa brains are thrilled to have such an improbable assignment - and believe civilisation may even depend on it.

An asteroid is a giant space rock that orbits the sun, like Earth. And someday one might threaten the planet.

But sending people to one won't be easy. You can't land on an asteroid because you'd bounce off - it has virtually no gravity. Astronauts couldn't even walk on it because they'd float away.

Reaching it might require a Nasa spacecraft to harpoon it.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: asteroid; muslimoutreach; nasa; space; xplanets
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>>They have presidential orders to to send astronauts to an asteroid in less than 15 years.<<

Isn't NASA now to be used for "Muslim Outreach"? I wasn't aware there were Muslims living on asteroids.

1 posted on 07/25/2011 4:26:54 PM PDT by Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

I guess someone in the Obama group liked the earth-saving asteroid movie “Armageddon.” I can’t think of any other reason for this.


2 posted on 07/25/2011 4:28:40 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

Put Obama on an asteroid within 15 days.


3 posted on 07/25/2011 4:29:04 PM PDT by rightly_dividing
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears
"I wasn't aware there were Muslims living on asteroids."

Me either, I thought they were mostly found around hemmoroids.

4 posted on 07/25/2011 4:29:51 PM PDT by hometoroost (Per Oceander: The only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and stupidity.)
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

Too big of a step. We should look at a longer stay on the moon first. Kinda pick up where we left off.

On the other hand, the time required in space to visit an asteroid might actually spur some innovation in shielding technology.


5 posted on 07/25/2011 4:31:08 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

harpoon ——> tractor beam.


6 posted on 07/25/2011 4:32:20 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears
They have presidential orders to to send astronauts to an asteroid in less than 15 years.

When Kennedy issued the challenge of the moon, he made sure to specify sending a man to the moon "and return him safely to Earth".

Don't see any such language here.

7 posted on 07/25/2011 4:32:54 PM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
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To: Pearls Before Swine

such as Vega or Eros?

We’re hitching rides on Russian rockets.... are going to pay the Russkies to take us there?


8 posted on 07/25/2011 4:33:49 PM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: hometoroost

Proof that obama has rocks in his head. I personnaly think that putting astronauts in a capsule the size of Orion for a long duration trip would be a mental suicide mission.


9 posted on 07/25/2011 4:34:40 PM PDT by Always Independent
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

And his space rock.


10 posted on 07/25/2011 4:35:29 PM PDT by Errant
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

Heading for a landing on Niburu?


11 posted on 07/25/2011 4:36:23 PM PDT by mark3681
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To: Errant
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
12 posted on 07/25/2011 4:36:32 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: KevinDavis; SunkenCiv

bump


13 posted on 07/25/2011 4:36:41 PM PDT by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: cripplecreek

If you’re going out to the asteroid belt, might as well go all the way to Mars. Make it a two-fer. Drop the Muzzie astronauts on the asteroid and tell them we’ll pick them up on the way back.


14 posted on 07/25/2011 4:36:55 PM PDT by hattend (Its a matter of public record that I did not go to Harvard Law School, but I can add. - Sarah Palin)
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

Why is an asteroid better than Mars? Wouldn’t Mars be easier?


15 posted on 07/25/2011 4:37:47 PM PDT by jeffc (Prayer. It's freedom of speech.)
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To: Errant
The man who's going to take us there.


16 posted on 07/25/2011 4:38:49 PM PDT by Errant
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

This is madness. There is nothing an astronaut can do to an asteroid that a robot cannot do better.


17 posted on 07/25/2011 4:39:33 PM PDT by omega4179
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears
Hey! This is really clever.

The mass of the largest asteroid is about 1/300 the mass of the Moon. I'm too lazy to calculate the escape velocity from Vesta, but my guess is that an uncovered sneeze could send and astronaut hurtling off into random areas of the solar system.

ML/NJ

18 posted on 07/25/2011 4:39:33 PM PDT by ml/nj
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To: Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears

This is madness. There is nothing an astronaut can do to an asteroid that a robot cannot do better.


19 posted on 07/25/2011 4:39:53 PM PDT by omega4179
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To: cripplecreek
I agree. A permanent human base on the moon would, if done correctly, make enough money to more than support its continued operation. Satellite launch station Luna. ;)
20 posted on 07/25/2011 4:40:53 PM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send the GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism.)
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