NASA selects 96 ideas on asteroid threat study

NASA has chosen 96 ideas from more than 400 submitted on how to best identify, respond to asteroid threat, protect the earth and capture an asteroid for closer study. These ideas were submitted by industry, universities, international organizations and the public, NASA said Wednesday. The selection process involved agency scientists, engineers and mission planners who are formulating details of the asteroid initiative. The Request For Information (RFI) on protecting Earth from asteroids and finding an asteroid humans can explore, was put out by NASA this June. NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot said, "This rich set of innovative ideas gathered from all over the world provides us with a great deal of information to factor into our plans moving forward. "We are making great progress on formulating this mission, and we look forward to discussing further the responses we received to the RFI." The ideas provide the space agency with insight into how best to identify, capture and relocate a near-Earth asteroid for closer study and respond to asteroid threats. They include pointers on how to decrease an asteroid's spin, nudge it away from a path toward Earth, take samples to return to Earth and create activities to heighten public awareness of not only the threat asteroids pose, but the valuable resources and scientific benefits they may offer. NASA plans a public workshop from September 30 to October 2 to examine and synthesize the 96 highly rated ideas. The workshop will feature discussions by experts from inside and outside NASA. The other approximately 300 ideas, which were not selected for examination, may be fed into planning for the asteroid initiative. NASA's asteroid initiative has two parts: the mission by astronauts to explore an asteroid and a grand challenge to protect the planet. It is included in President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2014 budget request for NASA, and leverages the agency's progress on its Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and cutting-edge technology development. The mission is a key step in NASA's plan to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.