DigitalSpace shows off proposed asteroid mission plans

by Donald Melanson posted Jul 30th 2007 at 10:59AM

It's already considered sending various types of robots to asteroids, but NASA apparently still has plenty more plans for dealing with near-Earth objects (or NEOs), with it recently asking Santa Cruz-based DigitalSpace Commons to develop a simulation for a manned mission. The company's plans, officially unveiled today, are based on NASA's own Constellation exploration crew vehicle, which the space agency developed for lunar missions but says can be modified for trips to NEOs. As CNET reports, DigitalSpace's planned modifications include a system that would anchor the spacecraft "like a boat in a harbor," along with a ring of sensor-equipped airbags that would detect stability on the ground. While NASA isn't saying exactly when it might attempt such a mission, DigitalSpace says it believes one could be done as soon as 2017.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

Tags: asteroid, digitalspace, nasa, near earth object, NearEarthObject, neo, space

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Jagannath A @ Jul 30th 2007 11:58AM

2017 is a very ambitious estimate

Neutral

Mike @ Jul 30th 2007 1:42PM

It's Closer Than You Think.

Neutral

nih @ Jul 30th 2007 1:46PM

Where do you install the Bruce Willis module?

Add your comments

Your comments:

Remember me

E-Mail me when someone replies to this comment

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.