Bringing Home Time Capsules: NASA's Plan to Capture and Study Asteroids

🌌Capturing asteroids would provide valuable insights into the early solar system, giving us a window into the formation of planets and moons.

🚀The retrieval craft would need to be equipped with ion thrusters and a large containment bag to capture the asteroid without causing it to fly apart.

🛰️The captured asteroid would be brought back to CIS lunar space, allowing for future study and analysis by scientists from around the world.

🌒The mission would support NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the surface of the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there.

🪐Advances in spaceflight capabilities, such as SpaceX's Starship, could make asteroid retrieval more feasible and accessible in the future.

Why capture asteroids instead of studying the Moon?

—Asteroids offer unique insights into the early solar system and can provide undisturbed time capsules from the formation of planets and moons.

How would the retrieval craft capture the asteroid?

—The craft would deploy a large containment bag that envelops the asteroid, pulling it tight and preventing it from flying apart.

What would happen to the captured asteroid?

—The asteroid would be brought back to CIS lunar space, where it could be studied and analyzed by scientists from around the world.

How does this mission support NASA's Artemis program?

—The mission would demonstrate advanced spaceflight capabilities and support the goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon.

Could private research teams undertake asteroid retrieval?

—Yes, if heavy lift launch hardware, such as SpaceX's Starship, becomes accessible and affordable, private teams could conduct independent asteroid retrieval missions.

00:00NASA has a plan to capture asteroids and bring them back to Earth for study.

02:58The retrieval craft would deploy a containment bag to capture the asteroid without causing it to fly apart.

03:49The captured asteroid would be brought back to CIS lunar space for further study and analysis.

04:40The mission would support NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the surface of the Moon.

08:25Advances in spaceflight capabilities, such as SpaceX's Starship, could make asteroid retrieval more feasible in the future.