Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Talk brewing about human mission to asteroid

NASA and industry leaders are looking ever more closely at the possibility of a human mission to an asteroid, which was one suggestion of a blue-ribbon presidential panel that recently submitted a report to the White House about the space agency's future.

Lockheed Martin apparently has mapped out such a mission using the Orion crew exploration vehicle it has been developing to replace the space shuttle, according to
space.com.

The mission could be targeted for as early as 2020. Some of the initial planning is coming up as NASA and its contractors come to terms with recommendations by the White House panel and upcoming decisions by President Barack Obama about what to do with the human exploration program.

A human flight to an asteroid was among the items noted by the committee as a positive because it could be achieved faster, with less technological investment, than returning to the moon or sending astronauts directly to Mars. That, they said, could provide an interim goal that would excite the public and provide leverage for increased investment in more ambitious missions down the road.


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

As Mr. Spock would say: "Fascinating.''
One problem, though: there isnt a dollar sign in the entire article, and did we forget already that we dont have any money for this kind of folly. Heck, we're asking USAir to take us into low Earth orbit. Of course Lockheed is recommending this -- its like a school bus company coming out in favor of field trips. Lets get real and understand no one in the country want to pay for this.

Anonymous said...

I thought NASA was underfunded and about to lay everyone off.

Anonymous said...

The ONLY talk coming out is from Lockheed (of course) and nobody else of consequence.

Li said...

I'm sure at the rate we're going, it'll be a very successful mission. For China.

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me?!?!?!?! For what purpose? Aren't there enough issues trying to get into low earth orbit much less the moon? And this is cheaper? So now NASA is going to forget about the moon and just send astronauts to land on an asteroid speeding by? Most asteroids don't even come within the moon's orbit of Earth. And how much time are they going to spend on these asteroids? By the time they get off of it, they will be so far away. Absolutely ridiculous.

Frank F. West said...

If no one wants to pay.. then what has become of that great American adventurous spirit? That 'can do' mentality that did the impossible; put men on the moon with 60s technology...

Anonymous said...

Intriguing idea going to a Near Earth Object. But who will fund it? With all the spacefaring nations committed to a continuous presence onboard ISS, until 2020, this is just hyperbole. Besides, American politicians are too busy increasng national debt and sending troops to a pointless war. Plus, they refuse to have anything to do with China in space, period. I doubt astronauts or cosmonauts shall ever leave LEO in my lifetime (and I'm not even 40 yet!!!)

Anonymous said...

Asteroid?
Wasn't a movie about that made 10 yrs ago?
I would think that going back to the moon would be cheaper and easier.
...now what was the name of that movie?

Anonymous said...

Fire all of NASA. Hire British ReactionEngines.CO.UK to build Skylon and run a viable USA Space Program. NASA just plays crossword puzzles and football gambling pools and fly a 1972 Space Shuttle design. And NASA reverts back to capsules. Hire UK, Russia, or China to run USA Space Program.

Anonymous said...

The only way to find out new things is if we explore... its gotta be done sometime. Why not now?