NASA passes major milestone, now says it needs help redirecting an asteroid

[ROYC75]

NASA passes major milestone, now says it needs help redirecting an asteroid
https://www.yahoo.com/news/nasa-pass...121331833.html

NASA wants to deflect an asteroid but now it says it will need some help. The plan is part of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), in which the agency hopes to capture part of an asteroid and drag it back to Earth within the next decade.

From September 2016 until August 2018, the agency will accept proposals from private companies for its ARM Umbrella for Partnerships (ARM-UP) in areas such as partner-provided payloads and experimentation on the asteroid.

Related: NASA just gave $100K to a company that wants to steer asteroids toward Earth

NASA’s asteroid capture mission consists of two distinct stages planned for 2021 and 2026 respectively.

During the first stage, called the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM), the agency will send a robotic vessel to a near-Earth asteroid where it will survey the surface in a series of close flybys. After identifying a manageable boulder, the vessel will descend on the asteroid, capture the boulder, lift off, and drag the object back to lunar orbit. However, just before the vessel travels to the Moon, it will perform a “planetary defense demonstration,” in which it will use the gravitational attraction between the asteroid and the spacecraft to gently deflect the asteroid’s trajectory.



Astronauts will travel to the boulder aboard an Orion spacecraft in the second phase, the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM). In this mission, the crew will collect asteroid samples and return them to Earth for study, which NASA says will mark the single biggest haul of asteroid material ever returned to Earth by a space mission. They hope the material will provide insight into the origin of life of Earth and the potential value of asteroid resources, including water and organic compounds.

NASA’s call for proposals comes as ARM passes its Key Decision Point-B review, a milestone that includes approval for the robotic mission’s content, costs, and schedule.

Although ARM has a practical goal, NASA considers the mission an important step in demonstrating new space technologies — such as a highly advanced solar electric propulsion system — which may one day help astronauts travel to Mars.

[Beef Supreme]

[OnTheWarpath15]

Call Bruce Willis!

[OnTheWarpath15]

goddammit

[Nightfyre]

NASA is seeking to create the Armageddon scenario, so they can be heroes later.

[Rain Man]

This seems like one of those times when the flight attendant makes an announcement like, "If anyone on the plane has experience flying a large airliner, would you ring your call button?"

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Yep, pulling an asteroid towards Earth makes sense to me ! Wondering which stock to buy now ?

[kepp]

Hey...why not? What could go wrong?
Posted via Mobile Device

[Discuss Thrower]

I'm sure some highly motivated geeks with kitted out PC battlestations running Kerbal Space Program, a couple bottles of adderall and a few million dollars could solve this problem by Christmas.

[Gonzo]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I'm sure some highly motivated geeks with kitted out PC battlestations running Kerbal Space Program, a couple bottles of adderall and a few million dollars could solve this problem by Christmas.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

This seems like one of those times when the flight attendant makes an announcement like, "By the way, does anyone on board know how to fly a plane?"

FYP

[BlackHelicopters]

Sounds like a job for McGyver.

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by kepp

Hey...why not? What could go wrong?
Posted via Mobile Device

Space rabies is what could wrong.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Rooster

Space rabies is what could wrong.

Or Critters. Cause that's how the Critters got loose....

[Molitoth]