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NASA plans to CAPTURE an asteroid!
- Thread starter Bob Watson
- Start date
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starise
Paranormal Adept
I'm not quite seeing the benefit of capturing a 22 foot rock , especially for the purpose of getting to Mars. What am I missing here?
Going to Mars is a pretty straight forward trip with no stops really needed. It's not like an oasis, it's a 22 ft. piece of rock. We can study smaller asteroids right here on earth. Why go meet one?
Dragging an asteroid into another orbit might be a beneficial skill if the skills can one day be used to prevent a large asteroid from entering our atmosphere. In this case though, the asteroid will be small and would not be a major planetary concern if one that size came down.Most of it would break up during entry. I don't think we are going to wrap a big balloon over a mile wide asteroid. I could be wrong though. This could be a great contract for Trojan.....ugh...ok put that one on my weekly apology list.
Going to Mars is a pretty straight forward trip with no stops really needed. It's not like an oasis, it's a 22 ft. piece of rock. We can study smaller asteroids right here on earth. Why go meet one?
Dragging an asteroid into another orbit might be a beneficial skill if the skills can one day be used to prevent a large asteroid from entering our atmosphere. In this case though, the asteroid will be small and would not be a major planetary concern if one that size came down.Most of it would break up during entry. I don't think we are going to wrap a big balloon over a mile wide asteroid. I could be wrong though. This could be a great contract for Trojan.....ugh...ok put that one on my weekly apology list.
Jimi H.
Paranormal Adept
Did you read the article ? 
"‘I think the asteroid-retrieval mission lays out a place for us to go,’ Kennedy Space Centre director Bob Cabana said.
‘It does everything that needs to be done as far as developing the technologies and the skills that we need for exploration beyond planet Earth.’ ..
‘The plan combines the science of mining an asteroid, along with developing ways to deflect one, along with providing a place to develop ways we can go to Mars,’ said U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat."
To me, it sounds like Obama is trying to be thrifty and is as concerned with asteroids as with exploring Mars. Perhaps this really is some brilliantly thought out idea, perhaps it's an iffective compromise between different ambitions. Anyways, yes, I agree, curious news.
Meanwhile, I just read that scientists had used artificial moonrock as base-material for a structure made with a 3D printer.
So, I guess that answers the age-old question: How will we colonize the universe? Answer: With a printer
"‘I think the asteroid-retrieval mission lays out a place for us to go,’ Kennedy Space Centre director Bob Cabana said.
‘It does everything that needs to be done as far as developing the technologies and the skills that we need for exploration beyond planet Earth.’ ..
‘The plan combines the science of mining an asteroid, along with developing ways to deflect one, along with providing a place to develop ways we can go to Mars,’ said U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat."
To me, it sounds like Obama is trying to be thrifty and is as concerned with asteroids as with exploring Mars. Perhaps this really is some brilliantly thought out idea, perhaps it's an iffective compromise between different ambitions. Anyways, yes, I agree, curious news.
Meanwhile, I just read that scientists had used artificial moonrock as base-material for a structure made with a 3D printer.
So, I guess that answers the age-old question: How will we colonize the universe? Answer: With a printer
starise
Paranormal Adept
Hi Jimi,
Yeah I did read the article. maybe I didn't absorb all of it
I guess my built in distrust of these kinds of things has me questioning. It is probably just as it the article states.There seem to be so many other ways to accomplish the task, but what do I know about it? Not much.
Yeah I did read the article. maybe I didn't absorb all of it
I guess my built in distrust of these kinds of things has me questioning. It is probably just as it the article states.There seem to be so many other ways to accomplish the task, but what do I know about it? Not much.
Jimi H.
Paranormal Adept
Well, I'm certainly no NASA insider.. I think Obama is trying to do several things at once, and that can result in unclear press releases: Should they focus on the asteroids or Mars?
Obama is a politician and I imagine there are votes in 'saving the Earth' from asteroids, less in spending huge amounts on sending a few lucky astronauts to Mars. So, I agree that the message was a little unclear, - perhaps just because of politics.
Obama is a politician and I imagine there are votes in 'saving the Earth' from asteroids, less in spending huge amounts on sending a few lucky astronauts to Mars. So, I agree that the message was a little unclear, - perhaps just because of politics.