Space & Astronomy

Astronauts in training for asteroid mission

By T.K. Randall
May 14, 2012 ·  16 comments

Image Credit: NASA Visiting an asteroid is part of NASA's long-term goal of sending humans to Mars and will be the most daring mission to date, taking astronauts a lot further from home than the surface of the moon. While plans for the trip are still in their early stages, ensuring that capable astronauts are available when the time comes is an important consideration.

"With the technology we have available and are developing today, an asteroid mission of up to a year is definitely achievable," said Major Tim Peake, a former test pilot who is one of the astronauts being trained. "Asteroids are interesting on a number of different levels. NASA is focused on the science you can achieve as asteroids are essentially a historical record of billions of years of our universe where we can take samples from."[!gad]Visiting an asteroid is part of NASA's long-term goal of sending humans to Mars and will be the most daring mission to date, taking astronauts a lot further from home than the surface of the moon. While plans for the trip are still in their early stages, ensuring that capable astronauts are available when the time comes is an important consideration.

"With the technology we have available and are developing today, an asteroid mission of up to a year is definitely achievable," said Major Tim Peake, a former test pilot who is one of the astronauts being trained. "Asteroids are interesting on a number of different levels. NASA is focused on the science you can achieve as asteroids are essentially a historical record of billions of years of our universe where we can take samples from."

Source: Telegraph | Comments (16)

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