NASA wants to land on meteorites

The National Aeronautics Agency (NASA) intends to send astronauts to a meteorite of 40 meters in diameter moving at 45,000 km / h.

If landed on a meteorite, NASA plans to test the device to convert ice into drinking water, oxygen and even hydrogen to fuel the spacecraft.

This 2000SG344 meteorite was once considered to be the most dangerous object in the universe, if it collided with Earth, it would destroy 84 atomic bombs, once thrown into Hiroshima in Japan at the end of the World. War II.

NASA's plan is seen as a precautionary step in case there is a meteorite moving toward Earth, and will be the foundation for NASA to explore deep into the Solar System before sending people to Mars.

According to a study to be published in June, NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Ames Research Center in California plan to use Orion (a new vehicle that will replace a retiring space shuttle. in 2010) for the return flight to the 2000SG344 meteorite, which lasts for 3 or 6 months. There will be two astronauts landing on this meteorite surface for about a week or two.

Since gravity on 2000SG344 is close to zero, the spacecraft needs to be attached to the meteorite, possibly by anchoring it to its surface. For this reason, astronauts will likely not be able to walk on meteorite surfaces as they did on the Moon before. According to Rob Landis, Johnson Center engineer and research author, the journey to conquer meteorites may be less fuel-efficient than the flight to 'Ms Hang' but will be technically challenging. .

By putting people on meteorites, NASA thinks they will better understand the astrological and psychological effects of astronauts on long journeys as well as the risks of working in the deep space of the universe. Specimens collected from meteorites can help scientists better understand the solar system formation as well as find ways to deflect meteorites capable of hitting Earth.

More recently, more accurate calculations of the size and flight path of the 2000SG344 have eased fears about the risk that the meteorite could hit Earth in 2030. However, experts say wearing although the possibility of crashing into the Earth has been eliminated, this asteroid will still fly through our planet at close range.