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During the Uk/Ireland Astronomy Meeting in Dublin, Dr A Christou from Armagh Observatory will be presenting new results concerning the most easily reachable Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) so far discovered. �NEAs constitute the most accessible source of pristine extraterrestrial material in the Solar System, apart from the Moon,� said Dr Christou. �Human missions to NEAs are also seen as a logical first step to the utilization and settlement of the Solar System," he said. "Finally, the acquisition of data on the composition and internal structure of NEAs is also a necessary prerequisite to developing an effective strategy to protect the Earth from asteroid impacts" he added.
Christou and his colleagues studied 27 candidate asteroids that had previously been discovered through observations. They included boulder-sized objects no more than 40 metres across (1998 KY26), fragments of the large main-belt asteroid Vesta (3361 Orpheus) and binary asteroid (1996 FG3).
The asteroids were assessed in order to find out which are the easiest to reach and the most accessible for a visiting spacecraft. They concluded that object 1999 AO10 requires less energy to achieve a rendezvous than placing an orbiter mission around the Moon. A further four of the NEA�s would also be easier to reach than Mars or Venus.
Any missions would typically require 1-2 years to reach its targets before spending several months surveying the asteroid from orbit or carrying out surface experiments, studying composition, geology and internal structure. Results from the missions would significantly increase scientific understanding of NEAs and promote large commercial interest.
It is likely NEAs will eventually become targets for commercial mining. A one kilometre sized asteroid can produce around seven billion tonnes of iron, one billion tonnes of nickel and enough cobalt for 3000 years. The current market value of these metals would put a price tag on such an asteroid of around three trillion pounds.
More info: Armagh Observatory
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