Just found out about a really close pass (inside the geostationary orbit distance) of a small, but consequential if it hit us, space rock, also called an asteroid, of course.
Near-Earth Asteroid 2012 DA14 to Miss Earth on February 15, 2013
Here's the pass configuration.
The thing is, NASA is floating plans to grab an asteroid using a big bag (no "Big Bag Theory" jokes, please), put into lunar orbit, and use it as a Mars mission jumping-off base.
Yup, really.
So even though this one's a little small, maybe it would be good practice, and also something to study for a bigger catch-and-orbit attempt later.
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