NASA has released an animation of an ambitious project that includes capturing a near-Earth asteroid and sending astronauts into space to study it.
To see an animation of the mission, watch a video on YouTube.
While it sounds like science fiction, U.S. President Barack Obama has added the asteroid initiative to his fiscal year 2014 budget request. He initially announced plans for the mission in April 2010 and it could be executed as early as 2021.
The near-Earth asteroid would first be robotically captured in a maneuver akin to throwing a bag over something. The mission would seek an asteroid that is 7-10 meters in diameter, weighing about 500 tons.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Reported by PC World 4 hours ago.
To see an animation of the mission, watch a video on YouTube.
While it sounds like science fiction, U.S. President Barack Obama has added the asteroid initiative to his fiscal year 2014 budget request. He initially announced plans for the mission in April 2010 and it could be executed as early as 2021.
The near-Earth asteroid would first be robotically captured in a maneuver akin to throwing a bag over something. The mission would seek an asteroid that is 7-10 meters in diameter, weighing about 500 tons.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here Reported by PC World 4 hours ago.