NASA Could Send an Asteroid to the Moon
Centuries from now, humankind may make it a tradition to prepare for an unprecedented celestial spectacle—the deliberate impact of an asteroid on the moon.
NASA is currently planning a mission to capture an asteroid with a spacecraft and place it in orbit around the moon, so astronauts can visit it for scientific research at any time. Of course, the asteroid shouldn't be left unattended after the astronauts are finished. It needs to be transported to a safe area.
"You might only be comfortable leaving it in orbit for about 100 years, but if you're done with it, send it to the moon and let it crash into the surface," said Paul Chodas, a scientist in NASA's Near Earth Objects division and based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
NASA's plan is for a robotic spacecraft to rendezvous with the 500-ton, 7.6-meter asteroid and place it in safe orbit around the moon.
Alternatively, the robot could, of course, collect even larger asteroids, which might not be necessary. NASA currently has both options open. In either scenario, a group of astronauts will launch into space aboard the Orion spacecraft in 2023 to collect samples.
At the same time, NASA employees believe that this mission is a good opportunity to develop space mining by obtaining more detailed information about the early solar system.
The first encounter is expected to occur in 2023, but this will depend entirely on researchers finding a suitable asteroid. Once orbiting the Moon, the asteroid's orbit will remain stable for about 100 years. During this time, it can be returned to and used for various purposes.
Simulation of the Orion spacecraft and astronauts docking with the asteroid from here You can reach.
Spacecom-NASA May Slam Captured Asteroid Into Moon (Eventually)
