‘Executing the asteroid retrieval plan would help demonstrate and greatly expand mankind’s space-based engineering capabilities,’ says engineer Louis Friedman, another co-organiser of the Caltech workshop. ‘For instance, the mission would teach engineers how to capture an uncooperative target, which could be useful practice for planetary defense missions in the event of a threat from a meteoroid or comet from space approaching our planet.’ he adds.
Former astronaut Rusty Schweickart, cofounder of the B612 Foundation, an organisation dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid strikes, points out that though it would be technically feasible, shifting such a hefty and substantial target would not be easy: ‘You’re moving the largest “mother lode” imaginable,’ he says.
Of course, such a small object might not have the same emotional impact as a larger target. ‘NASA isn’t going to want to go to something that is smaller than our spaceships,’ says engineer Dan Mazanek from NASA’s Langley Research Centre.
However, though the undertaking might be scientifically exciting, and provide great insight into the solar system’s formation, this is not enough on its own to justify the expense of bringing an asteroid to Earth. Investigations of asteroids can be done much more cheaply with an unmanned spacecraft, says chemist Joseph A Nuth from NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Centre.
Questions
1. It might be difficult to arouse interest in an asteroid of limited size.
2. An asteroid's weight makes the project extremely challenging.
3. The skill gained could save Earth from future danger.
4. Capturing an asteroid would not be an efficient method of research.