NASA Releases Animation of Mission to Capture a Boulder From Asteroid's Surface

Posted on March 30, 2014

NASA released this animation of a mission to capture a boulder from the surface of an asteroid. A NASA spacecraft, called an asteroid redirect vehicle, would use robotic arms to pluck a 3-meter boulder off the asteroid. The spacecraft would then enter a stable lunar orbit with the boulder where astronauts could then visit it and take samples. Take a look:

This is one of two asteroid missions NASA is considering. NASA is also considering capturing a 500 ton asteroid in a huge inflatable bag.

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