Which near-Earth asteroids are ripe for a visit?

Which near-Earth asteroids are ripe for a visit?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/bl...T_SPC_20110331

In April 2010, amid mounting criticism that his space plan lacked
direction, President Barack Obama gave a speech in Florida to lay out a
few ambitious goals he had in mind for NASA. The details of how those
targets would be met remain somewhat sketchy even today, but the goals
themselves were clear—sometime around 2025, the U.S. would perform an
unprecedented feat. "We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid
for the first time in history," Obama said.

NASA already sent a robotic spacecraft to land on the near-Earth
asteroid Eros in 2001, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
even managed to return a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa in
2010. So where will the next robotic mission go, and where will
astronauts first touch down in the decades to come?

See:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/bl...T_SPC_20110331

Sam Wormley quoted Scientific American:

In April 2010, amid mounting criticism that his space plan lacked
direction, President Barack Obama gave a speech in Florida to lay out a
few ambitious goals he had in mind for NASA. The details of how those
targets would be met remain somewhat sketchy even today, but the goals
themselves were clear—sometime around 2025, the U.S. would perform an
unprecedented feat. "We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid
for the first time in history," Obama said.

That is one of the most ridiculous ideas I have ever heard.

NASA already sent a robotic spacecraft to land on the near-Earth
asteroid Eros in 2001, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
even managed to return a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa in
2010. So where will the next robotic mission go, and where will
astronauts first touch down in the decades to come?

And why? Because the President thinks he needs to look tough on manned
spaceflight? I take it his military advisors are also his space policy
advisors. Time to send them all back to the asylums they came from.

But it's OK, because it's not going to happen. A relief to the
rational, a source of constant worry to advocates of Disney science.

Davoud

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm

and a cheesburger and health insurance that wont kill you, by 2099 !
Gulp!



Sam Wormley wrote:

Which near-Earth asteroids are ripe for a visit?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/bl...T_SPC_20110331

In April 2010, amid mounting criticism that his space plan lacked
direction, President Barack Obama gave a speech in Florida to lay out a
few ambitious goals he had in mind for NASA. The details of how those
targets would be met remain somewhat sketchy even today, but the goals
themselves were clear—sometime around 2025, the U.S. would perform an
unprecedented feat. "We'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid
for the first time in history," Obama said.

NASA already sent a robotic spacecraft to land on the near-Earth
asteroid Eros in 2001, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
even managed to return a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa in
2010. So where will the next robotic mission go, and where will
astronauts first touch down in the decades to come?

See:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/bl...T_SPC_20110331