NASA Developing World's First Space Shotgun to Blast Asteroids

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

NASA Developing World's First Space Shotgun to Blast Asteroids
World | Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: September 21, 2015 14:17 IST




A concept image of NASA's ARM Option B Robotic Vehicle



New York: NASA is developing the world's first space shotgun that can blast asteroids into small pieces for collection as samples when a robotic spacecraft reaches near one such space rock in the near future.

Along with a Brooklyn-based company Honeybee Robotics, the US space agency is working on a shotgun - as part of its Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) - that will test the strength of an asteroid to determine if it is sturdy enough for sampling, New York Post reported on Sunday.

The ARM aims to chop off a massive chunk of an asteroid and shift it into the Moon's orbit. Then, a manned spacecraft will collect samples and send these back to the Earth for further examination.

"Collecting and characterising samples from asteroids is an important science goal in itself, and NASA has identified it as a key step toward human exploration of Mars," Kris Zacny, director of exploration technology at Honeybee Robotics, was quoted as saying.

Read more: http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nasa-developing-worlds-first-space-shotgun-to-blast-asteroids-1219902

[Uncle Joe]

1. Well that's just another reason to never let Deadeye Dick near the Oval Office again.

Thanks for the thread, Judi Lynn.

[Enrique]

2. the sampling thing is an excuse

they just wnat to blow things up, in space

[Marty McGraw]

3. Space is Scary

I sense an NRA sponsership somewhere in the mix. Ya never know when one of those rocky characters will knock ya over and rob ya.

[longship]

4. I have a better pic of it.

[Helen Borg]

5. Ah, I thought it was to blast it

before it kills us all!

[Darb]

8. It probably is.

They just cannot say that. YOu know who they are right?

[GreatGazoo]

6. here is the prototype

[Javaman]

7. Yeah, "asteroids"...

this is just a secret project by NASA to defend the earth against the lizard people

[d_legendary1]

9. Ammosexuals

[Tom Rinaldo]

10. "The ARM aims to chop off a massive chunk of an asteroid and shift it into the Moon's orbit"

This begs the question, how massive? What could possibly go wrong?

[bananas]

12. The "asteroid" will probably be Phobos or Deimos

The retrieved rock probably won't be more than a few feet in diameter.
http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2015/04/advisors-to-nasa-dump-the-asteroid-mission-and-go-to-phobos-instead/

[Renew Deal]

11. What happens if this gets turned towards earth?