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| Little worlds unto themselves... (Photo by stu_spivack) |
Let’s face it: Going
from Earth to Mars is quite the undertaking, especially if you’re never coming back.
It is therefore best to get a little practice in under the asteroid belt before saying some fond farewells. That’s why NASA came up with the bold idea of creating a steppingstone to Mars.
This can be accomplished by yanking a boulder off an asteroid and nudging it into lunar orbit. NASA estimates that this will be done by 2025.
Once that “2- to 4-meter diameter boulder” is ready to roll (with a cost of more than $1.25 billion, per The
Christian Science Monitor), astronauts can make it their temporary home.
This will allow NASA to “demonstrate capabilities” needed “for future human missions beyond low Earth orbit and then ultimately, to Mars.”
Talk about an adventure! Bring some Rocky Road, it’s going to be a while.
Resources
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0326/For-Mars-NASA-wants-to-orbit-a-small-asteroid-around-the-moon
Copyright March 26, 2015 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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