NASA puts an asteroid in orbit around the Moon
NASA puts an asteroid in orbit around the Moon
To paraphrase an old saying, if the astronaut can not go to the asteroid, the asteroid should come to the astronaut. In a study released by the Keck Institute for Space Research, researchers described a mission to pull an asteroid into orbit in 2025 using ion propulsion and a big bag. The idea is to an asteroid near the Earth for easy study and visits by astronauts without the dangers and costs of a deep space mission.
Developed in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and others, the study takes a problem with the new NASA initiative to manned missions to the area around the Earth known as cislunar space that extends beyond the orbit of the moon. It is a major technical challenge, but there is nothing really there for the astronauts to visit. The Keck study solution is to find a near-Earth asteroid and drag it back for study.
The idea of the exploitation of asteroids has been around for a very long time. In 1903, Russian space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote about it in his book The Exploration of Outer Space by reaction Motors. Since then it has been a staple of science fiction stories and in 1969 Hammer Films made a documentary about moving asteroids named Moon Zero Two. Now according to the Keck study, the technology exists to asteroid towing possible.
The next step is to launch an unmanned tug. This spacecraft was surprisingly small for such a big job. It weighs just 18,000 pounds (39,683 pounds), making it light enough to be delivered at a low orbit by an Atlas V rocket. The key to this craft is the ion propulsion consists of five 10-kW Hall thrusters mounted on two-axis gimbal for steering. Running on xenon propellant, would only four thrusters are used at one time with fifth place as a backup.
Ion thrusters work through the use of solar panels to electrically charge the xenon atoms. A cathode accelerate xenon ions produce thrust. Although the thrust is very low, ion thrusters can operate for months at a time, so little thrust build up much speed. Even then it would tug the four years to achieve the target asteroid.
Developed in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and others, the study takes a problem with the new NASA initiative to manned missions to the area around the Earth known as cislunar space that extends beyond the orbit of the moon. It is a major technical challenge, but there is nothing really there for the astronauts to visit. The Keck study solution is to find a near-Earth asteroid and drag it back for study.
The idea of the exploitation of asteroids has been around for a very long time. In 1903, Russian space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote about it in his book The Exploration of Outer Space by reaction Motors. Since then it has been a staple of science fiction stories and in 1969 Hammer Films made a documentary about moving asteroids named Moon Zero Two. Now according to the Keck study, the technology exists to asteroid towing possible.
The next step is to launch an unmanned tug. This spacecraft was surprisingly small for such a big job. It weighs just 18,000 pounds (39,683 pounds), making it light enough to be delivered at a low orbit by an Atlas V rocket. The key to this craft is the ion propulsion consists of five 10-kW Hall thrusters mounted on two-axis gimbal for steering. Running on xenon propellant, would only four thrusters are used at one time with fifth place as a backup.
Ion thrusters work through the use of solar panels to electrically charge the xenon atoms. A cathode accelerate xenon ions produce thrust. Although the thrust is very low, ion thrusters can operate for months at a time, so little thrust build up much speed. Even then it would tug the four years to achieve the target asteroid.
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