Manned Asteroid Mission May Become Reality
August 31st, 2010 - 8:04 pm ICT by GDBy Ranjan Bhaduri
Aug 31, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The plan to send astronauts for seeing an asteroid is gaining momentum with a company expressing interest in deep space expedition. The much touted asteroid space trek is being deemed as a preparation for the Mars mission and also a scientifically important step. It may also give new ideas for the ways to prevent the possibilities of asteroids colliding with the earth in future. As everyone knows, the president of the USA, Barack Obama is upbeat about the possibility of space missions and NASA has set a 2025 deadline for launching manned asteroid mission.
Lockheed Martin the company that is setting up the Orion space capsule of NASA to replace the aged shuttle fleet has done homework on how the mission can be accomplished. NASA however, needs to resolve many questions regarding the mission. The agency will withdraw its three other space shuttles shortly and thereafter depend on the European, Japanese and Russian spacecrafts to send crews and cargo to the ISS. As per the plans of Lockheed Martin the astronauts will reach an asteroid with a couple of Orion capsules and it has set a deadline of 2016 for the much touted Plymouth Rock mission.
The mission will cover recently discovered and small sized asteroids. So far it has been planned that the astronauts will not land on the steroid after coming close to it. They will spend a few days in sample collection and analysis. It is going to be a costly mission for sure and several technological limitations would have to be overcome before NASA can kickstart the mission in reality.
- NASA's Orion 'moon' craft that could put man on asteroid unveiled - Mar 23, 2011
- No spaceship, yet NASA wants more astronauts - Nov 17, 2011
- NASA presents new launch system with eye on Mars - Sep 15, 2011
- Russian spacecraft undocks from ISS - Nov 22, 2011
- Space station crew land safely in Kazakhstan (Lead) - Nov 22, 2011
- NASA final shuttle launch scheduled for July 8 - May 21, 2011
- Plans afoot for astronauts to orbit moon's far side - Nov 26, 2010
- NASA plans most ambitious mission - to the asteroids - Jul 26, 2011
- New space station crew in orbit - May 15, 2012
- Russia not to exploit space shuttle monopoly - Jul 19, 2011
- NASA remembers storied past, but looks to uncertain future (Flashback 2009) - Dec 30, 2009
- Atlantis' landing ends final mission after 30 years of space shuttle era - Jul 21, 2011
- Astronauts from Russia, US reach International Space Station - Apr 04, 2010
- Space station crew lands in Kazakhstan - Apr 27, 2012
- Space Shuttle Atlantis On Its Last Mission - May 15, 2010
Tags: astronauts, barack obama, deep space, gaining momentum, lockheed martin, manned asteroid mission, mars mission, nasa, orion space capsule, plymouth rock, president of the usa, ranjan, shuttle fleet, sized asteroids, space expedition, space missions, space shuttles, space trek, spacecrafts, technological limitations