A photo from open sources
NASA researchers plan to capture an asteroid in the future weighing 500 tons, put it in a lunar orbit and build there is a space station that will serve as a transshipment point on the route Earth – Mars. The project will be reviewed by the department. US Science and Technology Policy (White House office of science and technology policy) coming soon. According to preliminary it is estimated that only at the initial stage (for the first 10 years) will cost the state $ 2.6 billion. Relevant a feasibility study was prepared by specialists NASA and the California Institute of Technology. If scientists will be able to implement this project, it will be the first in history moving a space object from one orbit to another. A special “capsule to capture” the asteroid will be launched into space using the Atlas-5 rocket. She will direct the asteroid into space between the earth and the moon. To do this (when the subject approaches sufficient distance) the capsule will release a kind of “bag”, which exceeds the diameter of the asteroid by 50 times. This “hunting net” will literally wrap around an object. Further apparatus will start a powerful engine and stop the asteroid, after which will move it to a gravitationally neutral place. Then it will be possible plan the construction of a base for launching other devices in depths of the universe. Scientists note that the proposed technology capture of a space object can be used for mining metals and minerals for use in the construction of the station on an asteroid. For example, some such objects contain a lot of iron, while others carry water that can be used to create fuel. Recall, recently, a professor at the Russian State Hydrometeorological University Valery Malinin said that to Earth is approaching an asteroid, a collision with which will be tantamount to an explosion of thousands of atomic bombs. Note that Roscosmos intends after 2020 to implement a project to launch to potentially threatening Earth asteroid Apophis space apparatus.
NASA
