Use asteroids as stepping stones to Mars: Richard Binzel on NASA's asteroid redirect mission
Thursday, October 30, 2014 - 06:00
in Astronomy & Space
By the end of this decade, NASA hopes to lasso a space rock: The space agency is actively pursuing proposals for its Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM)—a mission that aims to identify, capture, and redirect an asteroid into lunar orbit. Astronauts might then visit the rock to collect and bring back samples—pieces that would presumably hold remnants of the early solar system. ARM has been touted as a steppingstone toward the ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars: The mission would advance technologies and spaceflight experience needed for humans to colonize the Red Planet.