[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6112\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EAsteroid catchers foresee orbiting spaceports\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESending a spacecraft up to an asteroid, grabbing hold of it and bringing it back to the earth\u2019s vicinity, may sound far-fetched, but demonstration missions to small asteroids could take place within a decade, according to Dr Joan Pau S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles, at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis Marie Curie-funded ASTEROIDRETRIEVAL project is calculating the trajectories that will lead an asteroid in the direction of earth\u2019s orbit. \u2018By changing a tiny bit the velocity of the asteroid, you could put the asteroid on a trajectory that will be eventually naturally captured by the gravity of the earth,\u2019 he said. If it\u2019s no longer of use, the asteroid could then be nudged back away from earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles is modelling the combined gravitational effects of the earth, sun and moon, and incorporating this into the design of the complex engineering systems needed to capture an asteroid in space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe most straightforward and cheapest asteroids to fetch are those that require only a slight change in their velocity \u2013 for now only small rocks, which pose no risk to the ground below as they would burn up entirely on contact with earth\u2019s atmosphere. The aim of testing the technology is to ensure that if missions are one day scaled up to larger rocks, they would not present any risk.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018By changing a tiny bit the velocity of the asteroid, you could put the asteroid on a trajectory that will be eventually naturally captured by the gravity of the earth.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Joan Pau S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the project has identified 15 suitable targets, from an initial survey of 12 000 known objects, that could be retrieved with current space propulsion technology. Dr S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles hopes that when the project ends in May 2015, his research will be combined with technology to make contact with the asteroid as part of a future mission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ASTEROIDRETRIEVAL project is a continuation of research he began with Dr Daniel Garc\u00eda Y\u00e1rnoz on the EU-funded VISIONSPACE project at the University of Strathclyde, UK, which finished in 2014. While investigating asteroid manipulation, the pair started to explore the concept of asteroid capture. When they came to publish results in 2012, it turned out the US-based Keck Institute for Space Studies was also publishing research in the same area.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShortly after, NASA announced plans for its Asteroid Redirect Mission, a test mission to an asteroid by the mid 2020s. The mission is looking to bring back rocky samples for scientific analysis, help develop new techniques to ward off more threatening asteroids, and prepare for an eventual Mars mission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA key difference is that NASA will focus on trajectories for orbit around the moon, whereas \u003Cspan\u003EASTEROIDRETRIEVAL is working on an earth-based orbit\u003C\/span\u003E. However, the method developed by ASTEROIDRETRIEVAL could also be applied to lunar orbit by splitting the asteroid\u2019s journey into two steps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dr S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles, test missions like this may also help in the development of technology for capturing bigger rocks, or for the in-situ extraction of resources \u2013 from metals for use in industry, to water for fuel. A vehicle could travel to an asteroid and either return to earth with its payload, or refuel and continue out into space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAsteroids could be a source of platinum group metals, which are rare on earth, making them one of the most sought-after materials to transport back down. Two companies have already been set up in the US for asteroid mining and are helping to fund technology development. The challenge is to find ways of separating the precious metals or water from the rest that is largely waste material, explained Dr Garc\u00eda Y\u00e1rnoz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAsteroid propellant \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome asteroids may contain as much as 40 % substances that vaporise easily, such as water and methane, and other liquids and gases. The idea is that this water could potentially be extracted in-situ and then split into hydrogen and oxygen using solar energy. The hydrogen could then be turned into fuel for the docked spacecraft. Another idea would be to use water to make radiation shielding to protect astronauts from harmful cosmic rays.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne advantage of enabling a spacecraft to fill up on its route is that it could significantly reduce the costs of space discovery, even space tourism. \u2018Asteroid and comet propellant could reduce the cost of exploration missions almost by half, since you could potentially launch your space vehicle without propellant and save a lot of weight and money at launch,\u2019 Dr S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile technology to enable this is only at an early stage, Dr S\u00e1nchez Cuartielles is cautiously optimistic and believes it will be feasible in future, potentially within decades. \u2018You could be optimistic and say less than a few decades, but obviously it depends a lot on the budgets and the technologies that should come along on the path towards these technologies,\u2019 he said.\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EAsteroid Redirect Mission\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ENASA is planning a demonstration mission to an asteroid by the mid-2020s. The aim of the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/what-is-nasa-s-asteroid-redirect-mission\/#.VK0xh3uJJ8E\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAsteroid Redirect Mission\u003C\/a\u003E is to travel up to an asteroid, grab hold of it, and bring it into lunar orbit. NASA is yet to select one of two approaches for grabbing onto the asteroid and plans to make a decision in early 2015. One is to use a bag-like inflatable system to wrap a small asteroid inside and transport with spacecraft propulsion; the second, more expensive approach, is to use a robotic lander to break a chunk off a larger rock, and bring back the sample.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-8vgzymlupxrwhozg1hptcuommbe8tbf5rbohrkdabkw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-8VGZyMLupXrWHOZg1HpTCuOMmbe8Tbf5RboHRKdAbKw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]