

Some key leaders in Congress, which must approve funding for the mission, prefer returning to the moon. That plan was scrapped a few years ago by President Barack Obama, who canceled the Constellation Program due to what an independent commission called unsustainable costs.

Here’s a look at relevant questions and answers about NASA’s asteroid redirect mission, or ARM.

Question: How exactly would the mission work?

Answer: NASA is exploring two options. The first would identify a small asteroid (about seven to 10 meters) not far from Earth, use a robotic spacecraft to retrieve it, then drop it into the moon’s orbit. An alternative plan would extract a boulder from a larger asteroid and do the same thing.


Q: How will NASA find a suitable asteroid?

A: The agency already has identified more than 11,000 asteroids, or “near earth objects.” Three of them, none bigger than a school bus, are being monitored for the mission.


Q: How much will it cost?


Lack of money has forced NASA to reassess its missions. Unless a more ambitious plan gets broad international buy-in -- or Congress decides to approve significantly more money for NASA -- an asteroid mission looks like the agency’s best option for a deep-space mission for now, said John Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University.

“It’s the most interesting mission to undertake, given the current ground rules and current budget,” he said.

Q: Are there other advantages of visiting an asteroid?



Q: Why is there interest in returning to the moon?


It also would give an emerging commercial space industry opportunities to test new technologies and mine for minerals. And it would give the U.S. a chance to partner (read: share costs) with other countries it’s been at odds with lately, such as China and Russia.

“There’s really no enthusiasm among any of our (international) partners for the ARM,” said Cliff Zukin, a Rutgers University political science professor.


Q: What does Congress have to say about this?

A: Lawmakers are split on the asteroid plan. Republican leaders have criticized it as uninspiring and a waste of money, and say it lacks broad support from the scientific community.

Part of that reaction stems from bruised feelings over Obama’s decision to abolish the Constellation Program -- which had been championed by President George W. Bush -- without consulting Congress.

Democrats are more supportive, though they’re not particularly keen on the asteroid idea either.

Q: What happens next?


Congress, meanwhile, is working on NASA’s budget request, which includes about $133 million for the asteroid mission. Space committees in the House and Senate have passed similar spending plans for NASA but have yet to work out a compromise on a final budget.

Contact Ledyard King at lking@annett.com; Twitter: @edgeking

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