Sister blog of Physicists of the Caribbean in which I babble about non-astronomy stuff, because everyone needs a hobby

Saturday, 1 December 2018

NASA's mission to a metallic asteroid

I wonder if you could get away with wearing magnetic boots here, a la Star Trek VI.

16 Psyche will allow humans their first shot at exploring a world made of iron rather than ice or rock if NASA succeeds. The mission was originally set to begin in 2023, but now the agency is planning on starting in 2022 and making contact in 2026, thanks to a more efficient, lower-cost trajectory discovered by the team.

https://futurism.com/nasa-fast-tracking-plans-explore-metal-asteroid-worth-10000-quadrillion
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3 comments:

  1. Dean Calahan1 December 2018 at 15:19

    I saw this before and don't understand why they use "fast-tracking". I thought it was already on track. It's not like you can speed up the orbital dynamics.

    After Ultima Thule, this is, for me (vis-a-vis Solar System Space Stuff, SSSS) the most exciting mission going.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rhys Taylor1 December 2018 at 22:47

    I suppose the "more efficient orbit" they speak of can only be reached during this closer launch window :
    https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6854
    But I'm guessing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dean Calahan2 December 2018 at 15:56

    Somehow I didn't see that.

    ReplyDelete

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