NASA Initiates Asteroid Development By Contracting Private Companies



    Two private companies have already received NASA asteroid development contracts. These companies are Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources. As for Planetary Resources, this is an American company from Washington state. The company has already announced plans to launch two satellites, Arkyd 6 and Arkyd 3, in order to conduct an analysis of the design and operation principles of space telescopes. This company plans to build several such telescopes, with the help of which the study of asteroids close to Earth will be carried out.

    Planetary Resources already has ready-made telescopes (by the way, funds for one of the models, in the amount of $ 1.5 million, were collected on kickstarterArkyd 300, Arkyd 200 and Arkyd 100. Each telescope has its own role in the study of near-Earth space, and its own set of tools.

    So, Arkyd 100 will work as a low-orbit telescope capable of studying the Earth and asteroids. Arkyd 200 will be used as an interceptor capable of detecting asteroids between the Earth and the Moon. And the Arkyd 300 will be equipped with a power plant that allows the device to study space outside the orbits of the Earth and the Moon.



    Deep Space Industries is the second company to receive a NASA contract. Its specialists will be engaged in the development of small spacecraft FireFlies. The devices will investigate the density, composition and size of asteroids. In addition, the plans of this company to create another spacecraft, Dragonfly, which can catch asteroids. The latter will be developed, and the resulting material will be delivered to Earth by Harvesters (almost Dune, yes).

    In addition to the contracts provided, NASA also plans to launch an annual competition for university students. The goal is to create practical robots that could engage in the development of asteroids.

    Via betawired

    Also popular now: