Private Firm Aims to Capture a House-Sized Asteroid to Jumpstart Space Mining
TL;DR
TransAstra plans to fund a study for a mission to capture a 100-ton, house-sized asteroid and relocate it near Earth for processing and propellant production, potentially as early as 2028 under the 'New Moon' project; the plan relies on a large capture bag whose scale-up has NASA backing, with ambitions to use off-Earth resources to sustain a future space-based mining and manufacturing facility, while the bag may also help clear orbital debris.
- Private Company Wants To Bag House-Sized Asteroid For Resources Jalopnik
- A private space company has a radical new plan to bag an asteroid Ars Technica
- TransAstra aims to move 100-ton asteroid to stable orbit for processing SpaceNews
- NASA-Backed Startup to Try Ingenious Asteroid Mining Idea: Just Bag It Gizmodo
- Why Scientists Want to Kidnap Asteroids and Drag Them Closer to Earth VICE
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