NASA plan to capture asteroid to use as base for future Mars mission

Next Media - “NASA has proposed an ambitious plan to turn an asteroid into a space station.”

“An ‘asteroid capture capsule’ would be launched on an Atlas V rocket.”

“The capsule would lasso a small asteroid with a 50-foot diameter bag and then burn its thrusters to maneuver the asteroid into a moon orbit.”

“Once there, the asteroid could be used as a base for a future mission to Mars.”

SOURCE: The Australian, Popular Mechanics, California Institute of Technology

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/plan-to-harness-a-deep-space-staging-post-before-nasas-funding-committee/story-fnb64oi6-1226542584159

http://www.kiss.caltech.edu/study/asteroid/index.html