asteroid mining
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Trojan Asteroids Loom Closer as NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Fires Up Engine for First Time
The asteroid-sleuthing probe is transitioning from its orbit around the Sun to one beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
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This Nonprofit Wants to Catapult Material From Incoming Asteroids to Protect Earth
In February 2013, an asteroid about the size of a house punched its way through Earth’s atmosphere and broke apart over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The blast was so strong, it left a bright streak in the skies and triggered a powerful shockwave, shattering glass and resulting in the injury of over a 1,000…
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No, an Asteroid the Size of a Skyscraper Isn’t Going to Hit Earth, Sorry
Earthlings often get nervous (or get their hopes up) about asteroids careening towards Earth. Such is the case this week, as headlines trumpet the danger of a “potentially hazardous” asteroid the size of the Space Needle along with four other space rocks. Fortunately for the worry-warts and unfortunately for nihilists around the world, the latest…
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Asteroid Mining Might Just Work, If Only We Can Land on the Dang Things
The Rosetta mission’s Philae lander descended toward the 4km-wide comet at a human’s walking pace. For seven tense hours, scientists in Darmstadt, Germany monitored its radio signal. They would have no idea whether they’d done everything correctly until after the moment of touchdown. If all went well, the lander would press two harpoons into the…