It was once considered the most dangerous object in the universe, heading for Earth with the explosive power of 84 Hiroshimas. Now an asteroid called 2000SG344, a lump of rock barely the size of a large yacht, is in the spotlight again, this time as a contender for the next giant leap for mankind.Nasa engineers have identified the 1.1m tonne asteroid, which in 2000 was given a significant chance of slamming into Earth, as a potential landing site for astronauts, ahead of the Bush administration's plans to venture deeper into the solar system with a crewed voyage to Mars.The mission - the first to what officials call a Near Earth Object (NEO) - is being floated within the US space agency as a crucial stepping stone to future space exploration.A report seen by the Guardian notes that by sending astronauts on a three-month journey to the hurtling asteroid, scientists believe they would learn more about the psychological effects of long-term missions and the risks of working in deep space, and it would allow astronauts to test kits to convert subsurface ice into drinking water, breathable oxygen and even hydrogen to top up rocket fuel. All of which would be invaluable before embarking on a two-year expedition to Mars.Under the Bush administration, Nasa has been charged with sending astronauts back to the moon, beginning in 2020 and culminating in a permanent lunar outpost, itself a jumping off point for more distant Mars missions. With the agency's ageing fleet of space shuttles due to be retired soon after 2010, the agency has begun work on a replacement called Orion and a series of Ares rockets that will blast them into orbit.

In a study due to be published next month, engineers at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre in Houston and Ames Research Centre in California flesh out plans to use Orion for a three to six month round-trip to the asteroid, with astronauts spending a week or two on the rock's surface. As well as giving space officials a taste of more complex missions, samples taken from the rock could help scientists understand more about the birth of the solar system and how best to defend against asteroids that veer into Earth's path.

View: Full Article | Source: Guardian Unlimited

Would be great if space exploration could advance. However with all the money spent on terrorism there is no money for exploration.

I wonder if the us will ever do a combined moon and mars mission with europe , china and russia. That will greatly help the budget constraints by deviding the cost between them.

Or maybe a new space race between Russia , China and America will be the spark for another apollo like program with huge budgets etc.

Given the above article and the fact that NASA will return to the Moon by 2020, this time constructing a permenant base there, I found your claim slightly odd.


The Russians and the European Space Agency are looking to join forces to explore the moon. At the moment they are not interested in joining the USA. There is a feeling amongst some of the ISS partners that NASAs idea of international co-operation leaves a lot to be desired, "we are all equal partners so do what we say". It is not beyond the realms of possibility that once Russia/ESA have demonstrated their abilities that they could co-operate with NASA again. I hope so.


The Constellation programme IS an Apollo like programme. It doesn't have such a huge budget I admit, but then we are no longer in a cold war with two sides trying to demonstrate their superiority militarily, politically and technologically.

Now if Al-Qaeda had a space programme then you would see a huge budget for NASA.

Well... after watching a Documentary and learning about the amount of money involved for secret military expeditions & experimentations that I am sure there is no issue of money involved in funding any space missions. The government is more focused on terrorism right now, and yes most of its money is going there. With the amount of terrorist threats and on going problems in other countries, I think the U.S. is probably finding it hard to find allies right now. As much as I'd like to see the U.S. advance in the space programs, I think its in our best interest to focus on our own country & problems with our economy issues such as fuel, agriculture, poverty etc; The U.S. is in a recession right now. Unemployment percentage is high again, fuel prices are sky rocketing, real estate is not selling or buying, and there are on going problems at the border with immigration. If you ask me, I think the U.S. is in a state of depression!?

paging Bruce Willis.....please pick up the white courtesy phone.

He passed away on the last asteroid mission!? Get a hold of Ben Affleck! LOL...

Wouldn't it make more sense to do this kind of mission to 1991 VG?

Unless perhaps they already know what 1991 VG already is... (search 1991 VG on these forums and you will find the thread on this)

It kinda feels like we're just gonna abandon the earth in a few decades to live on the moon. I know I speak for others when I say that I do not want to live atop a huge rock. Plus, I know that everybody'll be hitting their heads on the ceiling the first few weeks.

The other stuff in neat, though. Understatement of the year. New rockets, landing on asteroids, mars exploration...