From Andrew Climo
New Scientist reported possible NASA plans to capture a 7-metre-wide asteroid and place it in the moon’s orbit (2 January, newscientist.com). A great idea, but why not go for a larger rock to have a permanent platform in lunar orbit from which to launch missions?
It makes sense to put one in high Earth orbit too, for the same reason. Then conventional transports – heavy-lift rockets such as Atlas and Delta – could reach it, dock and transfer supplies. With provisioned and fuelled supply depots also offering emergency shelter, not only is risk reduced, but also potentially, mission complexity and long-term cost.
Newlyn, Cornwall, UK
