Asteroids: Page: 2

Video: Rosetta Flyby of Asteroid 21 Lutetia
ESA's Rosetta orbiter approached and passed the asteroid 21 Lutetia, a 100-kilometer wide asteroid, in 2010. (April 28, 2012)

Planetary Resources Plans to Mine Near-Earth Asteroids
A company named Planetary Resources has announced plans to mine Near-Earth Asteroids for raw materials. (April 24, 2012)

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Spies New Surface Features on Giant Asteroid Vesta
NASA's Dawn spacecraft has revealed some unexpected details on the surface of Vesta, a huge asteroid Dawn is tracking, which is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. (March 23, 2012)

NASA WISE Space Telescope Finds Fewer Asteroids Near Earth
New observations by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) indicate there are much fewer near-Earth asteroids in the mid-size range than previously thought. (October 1, 2011)

Chinese Scientists Want to Pull Asteroid into Orbit Around Earth
PopSci is reporting that a group of Chinese scientists want to pull an asteroid into orbit around Earth. (August 31, 2011)

ESA Plans to Slam Spacecraft Into Asteroid
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to carry out a mission to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid. (August 17, 2011)

NASA to Launch Mission to Asteroid in 2016, Robotic Arm Will Pluck Samples From Asteroid
NASA has announced plans to launch a spacecraft to an asteroid in 2016. (May 25, 2011)

Scientists Stunned by 'Alfred Hitchcock' Lutetia Asteroid Photograph
The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft recently beamed back close-up photographs of asteroid Asteroid 21 Lutetia, which NASA describes as "an ancient, cratered relic from the dawn of the solar system. (July 16, 2010)

NASA Can't Afford Killer Asteroid Hunt
The Associated Press is reporting that NASA does not have the $1 billion in its budget to track down killer asteroids that might cause us harm. (March 12, 2007)

NASA Devising Plan to Land Astronaut on Asteroid
The Guardian reports that NASA is drawing up plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid -- the same thing Bruce Willis did in the film Armageddon. (November 20, 2006)

Scientists Concerned About Possible Asteroid Hit in 2036
The Guardian reports that scientists are concerned that a 390-meter wide asteroid named Apophis has an outside chance of hitting Earth and causing devastation in 2036. (December 11, 2005)

New Strategy to Stop Asteroids
New Scientist reports that a new strategy developed by NASA astronaut Edward Lu to stop asteroids involves placing a massive object, likely a huge spaceship, near the incoming asteroid and use gravity to pull the object out of an orbit that will hit planet Earth. (November 12, 2005)