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Friday, January 4, 2013
NASA mulls plan to drag asteroid into moon's orbit
Who says NASA has lost interest in the moon? Along with rumours of a hovering lunar base, there are reports that the agency is considering a proposal to capture an asteroid and drag it into the moon's orbit.
Researchers with the Keck Institute for Space Studies in California have confirmed that NASA is mulling over their plan to build a robotic spacecraft to grab a small asteroid and place it in high lunar orbit. The mission would cost about $2.6 billion ? slightly more than NASA's Curiosity Mars rover ? and could be completed by the 2020s.
For now, NASA's only official plans for human spaceflight involve sending a crewed capsule, called Orion, around the moon. The Obama administration has said it also wants to send astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid. One proposed target, chosen because of its scientific value and favourable launch windows for a rendezvous, is a space rock called 1999 AO10. The mission would take about half a year, exposing astronauts to long-term radiation beyond Earth's protective magnetic field and taking them beyond the reach of any possible rescue.
Robotically bringing an asteroid to the moon instead would be a more attractive first step, the Keck researchers conclude, because an object orbiting the moon would be in easier reach of robotic probes and maybe even humans.
Catch and release
The Keck team envisions launching a slow-moving spacecraft, propelled by solar-heated ions, on an Atlas V rocket. The craft would then propel itself out to a target asteroid, probably a small space rock about 7 metres wide. After studying it briefly, the robot would catch the asteroid in a bag measuring about 10 metres by 15 metres and head back towards the moon. Altogether it would take about six to 10 years to deliver the asteroid to lunar orbit.
The project still needs some technical and scientific fine-tuning, says co-leader Louis Friedman of the Planetary Society, but he sees it as an important boost to exploration.
For instance, NASA has also expressed interest in putting astronauts on an outpost parked in orbit at the Earth-moon Lagrange point 2. From there they could study a captured asteroid using telepresence technology, or even practise human landings on its surface.
Such work could help develop ways to use asteroid material for construction or spaceship fuels, making the captured asteroid a stepping stone for human missions to larger asteroids and eventually to Mars.
A moon-orbiting asteroid would probably also be of interest to private companies proposing human missions to the lunar surface for scientific exploration and mining studies.
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Ever Wonder If A Movie Is Streaming On - Business Insider
It's a common problem ? you want to watch a specific movie but you're not sure if your streaming service of choice has it available.
But we just found out about a service called Can I Stream.it? via Apartment Therapy that helps make your search a piece of cake.
You enter the movie or TV show you want to watch and it will immediately tell you if it's available on Netflix, Amazon Instant, Hulu+, or other services.
If you choice isn't available, you can get a notification when it becomes available.
We've already signed up to be notified when the full Die Hard series is available for streaming on Netflix.
Check out the site here >
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/can-i-stream-it-2013-1
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Chrysler says posts best sales year since 2007
1 hr.
Chrysler says its U.S. sales last year were the best since 2007.?
The company said Thursday?sales rose 21 percent for the year, led by the Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.?
For December, Chrysler's sales increased 10 percent to 152,367 cars and trucks.?
Americans bought new vehicles at a strong pace last month. The robust sales came even with uncertainty in Washington over a budget deal that would have raised taxes and cut spending sharply, threatening the U.S. economy. Chrysler says industry sales jumped to an annual rate of 15.8 million in December, making it the strongest month of the year.?
The company was the first carmaker to report sales Thursday.?
Industrywide, U.S. auto sales for 2012 are expected to show a 13 percent rise to 14.5 million new vehicles, the best showing since 2007, driven by the slowly recovering economy, more available credit and the need to replace aging cars and trucks.?
Polk, a research consulting firm, said it expects U.S. auto sales to hit 15.3 million in 2013, an increase of nearly 7 percent.?
Each month, auto sales are an early indicator of consumer demand.?
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/chrysler-says-posts-best-sales-year-2007-1B7812450
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