NASA wants to capture a 23 ft wide asteroid with a robotic space lasso and drag it to the moon. The aim of this ambitious project is to bring the asteroid into lunar orbit where it will give astronauts an opportunity to explore it.
Once the asteroid is in a stable orbit around the moon, astronauts can visit it as soon as 2021 using NASA's Orion space capsule and the giant Space Launch System mega-rocket. Scientists have identified three most suitable asteroids from a list of fourteen prime contenders.
"It's mostly orbital constraints that those 14 satisfy," Paul Chodas, senior scientist in NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office said. "We did not have the opportunity to characterize the size. We have two to three which we'll characterize in the next year and if all goes well, those will be valid candidates that could be certified targets and we'll pass by another in the year 2016. So we have three from the list of 14."
The purpose of moving and exploring asteroids is to gain a better understanding of their characteristics and also to test technology designed to relocate asteroids, should they pose a threat to Earth. The agency has also examined many possible mission concepts to help define what capabilities are needed to push the boundaries of space exploration.
