NASA already has a program in place called OSIRIS-REx which will launch an unmanned spacecraft to an asteroid in 2016, but after that, a manned mission to an asteroid is a possibility. Jay Melosh, Professor of Planetary Sciences at Purdue University, says going to an asteroid is more challenging than lunar missions but it doesn't offer as many challenges as landing on an actual planet. Read more
NASA considering mission to send astronauts to asteroid, as stepping stone to future voyage to Mars
A TV space hit of the future could be 2020 Rock. That's the rough target date NASA and space industry folks are eying for a mission to send astronauts to a Near Earth Object, aka an asteroid. Read more
NASA, U of Alberta to propose asteroid landing NASA and the University of Alberta are set to propose a team-up that could see a manned landing on an asteroid.
A planetary scientist visiting Edmonton this weekend wants to send a manned mission to an asteroid. Such a mission would provide more information about the formation of the solar system, said Paul Abell, who works for the Planetary Science Institute and is assigned to the NASA Johnson Space Centre in Houston.