Monday, August 19, 2013

More asteroids that could be captured (easily)


Not long ago (May, in fact) I suggested that NASA wait until 2026 for an asteroid capture mission, because an asteroid is going to make a close fly-by of Earth.   So I asked, why not catch that one?

Now I read that apparently a couple of bright engineers in Scotland ares thinking along similar lines, because they've identified 12 potentially catchable asteroids in nearby orbits.  What I don't know is if the one I suggested as a candidate, the one flying by in 2026, is one of these twelve.  I'm sure that their absolute velocity with respect to Earth is one factor to consider.

So, anyway, NASA maybe should pay attention to these Scottish engineers (and not just because the starship Enterprise had a Scottish chief engineer, either).   And maybe they should pay attention to me, too.




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