NASA’s Plan for a Human Mission to an Asteroid
August 29, 2024 by Admin
NASA’s plan for a human mission to an asteroid, often referred to as the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), was a proposed mission that aimed to send astronauts to an asteroid as part of a broader goal to develop the capabilities needed for a human mission to Mars.
Key Components of the Plan
Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM): The ARM was conceived in the early 2010s as a way to practice the skills and techniques necessary for deep space exploration. The mission had two primary components:
Robotic Mission: This phase involved sending a robotic spacecraft to a nearby asteroid, capturing a small boulder from its surface, and redirecting it into a stable orbit around the Moon (known as a “Distant Retrograde Orbit”).
Crewed Mission: Once the asteroid boulder was in lunar orbit, NASA planned to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft to study the asteroid. The crew would perform spacewalks, collect samples, and test new technologies, such as advanced propulsion and deep-space habitats.
Technological Development: The mission was intended to serve as a testing ground for a variety of technologies critical for future deep-space missions, including:
Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP): A propulsion method that uses electricity generated by solar panels to ionize and accelerate propellant, providing a continuous thrust. This technology is essential for long-duration missions in deep space.
Spacewalk Techniques: The mission would help develop techniques for working in microgravity environments around small celestial bodies, which is different from the microgravity around the International Space Station (ISS) or the Moon.
Life Support Systems: Testing closed-loop life support systems and other technologies that ensure astronaut safety on long missions away from Earth.
Scientific Goals: The ARM also aimed to advance planetary defense strategies by studying how to move an asteroid. The knowledge gained would be valuable for potentially deflecting any future asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
Cancellation and Shift in Focus
In 2017, the ARM was effectively canceled. NASA shifted its focus towards the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence there by the end of the decade. The technologies and experiences that would have been developed for the ARM are now being redirected to support the Artemis program and future Mars exploration missions.
Current Status
While the specific mission to an asteroid as outlined in ARM is no longer active, NASA continues to study asteroids through other means, such as the OSIRIS-REx mission, which successfully collected samples from the asteroid Bennu and is returning them to Earth. These efforts contribute to the overall understanding of asteroids, which could be important for future human missions beyond Earth’s orbit.