Is it possible to walk on an asteroid

An asteroid trip "would really be our first step as a species outside the Earth-moon system," said planetary scientist Andy Rivkin of the Applied Physics Laboratory. Asteroids have always been passed over as a destination for human explorers.

Then-President George H. Bush, chose the moon. In February, Obama took steps toward killing Bush's moon program, which was beset by technical troubles and money woes.

Two months later, in a speech at Cape Canaveral, Fla. So far, the Obama administration has been quiet on the need for a major sum of money to accomplish his goal.

And unlike Kennedy, who used Russian spacecraft missions known as Sputnik to promote the moon mission, Obama doesn't have a geopolitical imperative to justify the scheme. Congress is resisting Obama's change of direction, which could delay investment in the program.

If Obama wants to bolster his cause, there's a rationale he could cite: An asteroid could wipe out as many human lives as a nuclear bomb. The dominant scientific theory posits that dinosaurs went extinct because of a direct hit from an asteroid as wide as San Francisco. A space rock big enough to kill thousands slams into Earth every 30, years, according to a January report from the National Research Council.

That scenario provided the rationale for asteroid missions in various Hollywood movies, including "Armageddon. It went on to be a staple on cable television. But if Americans think they have an understanding of the challenge of going to an asteroid, they're wrong. Obama's plans for NASA have drawn many opponents, including Armstrong, but their criticism centers on the administration's reliance on private space companies to ferry astronauts to orbit.

The goal of an asteroid hasn't been questioned as much. That doesn't mean it would be easy. Although experts agree it could be done, here are four asteroid-sized reasons why life won't imitate art. In "Armageddon," Willis' character and his crew blast off in two modified space shuttles to reach the killer asteroid.

But NASA has long planned to retire the shuttles within the next year. And even if they weren't all headed to museums, they're useless as asteroid transporters. The shuttles were built only to circle Earth, said Dan Adamo, a former mission control engineer who has studied human missions to asteroids.

They don't carry the fuel to jump into deep space, and their heat shields aren't designed to withstand the extra-high temperatures of returning from a destination other than the Earth's orbit. What's needed instead is a giant rocket on the scale of the monstrous Saturn V -- taller than Big Ben -- that propelled man to the moon in the s and s.

Such a project is "a difficult challenge" that will cost in the multiple billions of dollars, said Ray Colladay, a member of NASA's advisory council.

Building a 21st-century version can be done but will require a sharp increase in the NASA budget later this decade, some space experts say. NASA would also need to build a new spaceship where the astronauts can live and store all the oxygen, food and water needed for a long voyage.

One option is to launch a small space pod carrying the crew, then, once safely in space, unleash an inflatable habitat, Leshin said. Willis and company arrive at their target asteroid in a few days, if not a few hours. Admittedly, it's streaking toward Earth at the time. NASA would prefer to go to one before it gets to that stage. Studies by Adamo, former astronaut Thomas Jones and others show that a round trip to a target asteroid would typically take five to six months.

That assumes NASA shoots for one of the 40 or so asteroids that come closest to the Earth's path in the s and s and relies on spacecraft similar to those NASA had designed for Bush's moon mission. Another problem during the journey -- the crew would spend months "cooking" in space radiation, said NASA's Dave Korsmeyer, who has compiled a list of the most accessible asteroids.

Shuttle passengers are somewhat screened from such radiation by Earth's magnetic field. Astronauts who leave Earth's orbit have no such protection. Space radiation raises the risk of cancer and in extreme cases causes nausea and vomiting, said Walter Schimmerling, former program scientist of NASA's space radiation program. The astronauts might need to take drugs to prevent the ill effects of radiation.

Then there's the "prolonged isolation and confinement" that the crew will have to endure, said Jason Kring of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. If there's an emergency halfway into the trip, the astronauts would not be able to get home in a few days, as the Apollo 13 crew did.

Instead it would take weeks, if not months. Without the sun, the temperature suddenly drops to about degrees Celsius. This situation happens very, very suddenly because there is no atmosphere in space. Here, the only thing that keeps the astronaut safe in these difficult conditions is again the spacesuit. Another important item on the spacesuit is the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment LCVG , which incorporates clear plastic tubing through which chilled liquid water flows for body temperature control, as well as ventilation tubes for waste gas removal.

Thus, the astronaut can always work comfortably in the spacesuit. In addition to all these, the astronaut must wear a spacesuit to be protected from pressure, radiation and meteor dust.

Even though we can't feel it, air is constantly pressing down on us with a tremendous force. We cannot see this force with our eyes, but we constantly experience the results of this effect, especially when driving on steep hills or getting off an airplane.

This pressure created by the air and the internal pressure created by the beat of our heart is constantly in balance. As we just explained, there is no air in space. This means that there is no air pressure in space.

Therefore, spacesuits are inflated with a certain amount of air, just like a balloon, to apply the necessary external pressure to the astronaut. Thus, the body fluids of astronauts can remain in liquid form during a spacewalk. There is a special layer of atmosphere in the world that protects us from the harmful rays of the sun.

However, since there is no atmosphere layer in space, the sun's harmful rays , also called radiation, can cause great harm to astronauts. Space suits have layers to protect astronauts from radiation and reflect incoming rays. Also included in the spacesuit is a gold-plated visor section to protect the astronauts' eyes.

Meteor dusts are small particles orbiting the earth. You might think; "How could a tiny dust particle hurt an astronaut?

Meteor dusts move in orbit of the Earth at a speed of approximately 24, km per hour. Therefore, when any small particle hits an astronaut, it can cause great damage.

For this reason, there is a special protection shield in the upper part of the spacesuit and in the area called the Hard Upper Torso , which is similar to the structure of bulletproof vests.

Thanks to this shield, the astronaut is protected from the vital damage that a meteor dust can cause. Astronauts may have to take long space walks from time to time. The record belongs to two astronauts, Jim Voss and Susan Helms, who took a spacewalk for 8 hours and 56 minutes. Of course, astronauts can get hungry or thirsty during this long spacewalk.

If necessary, you may think that they can go to the space station and have their food. But every minute in space is planned and very important. Taking off a spacesuit, that actually takes 15 minutes to put on with someone's help, can cost the astronaut half an hour, so the astronauts do not prefer to return to the space station and take a lunch break.

NASA has found a solution to this issue as well. Under normal circumstances, menus containing more than types of food are prepared for the International Space Station astronauts. These menus that include snacks can be consumed by astronauts at the station. There is also a high-calorie chocolate bar, fixed in a space suit helmet close to the mouth, so that astronauts can gain energy on challenging spacewalks. Especially on long spacewalks, astronauts enjoy the meal breaks where they consume these chocolates.

Since they cannot use their hands, astronauts consume the chocolate bar by biting on it several times. The next need of the astronaut consuming a high-calorie chocolate bar is of course water. At this point, a water bag located in the spacesuit helmet and a straw attached to this bag comes to aid. The tip of the straw can be opened and closed using only the mouth. It can be said that this shield is cost-effective considering that a spacesuit is not crafted for every single astronaut and it can be used repeatedly for many years as long as there are no problems with it.

Initially, it may look like the most expensive item on the space suit is the Primary Life Support System. This unit, which is responsible for adjusting the oxygen and the temperature levels, contains several electronic devices.

However, in terms of cost, the parts that NASA spends the most are the gloves of the astronauts. Spacesuit gloves are the main limiting factor when it comes to working in space.

Astronauts usually handle from 70 to tools, tethers and associated equipment for a typical spacewalk. Like an inflated balloon, the fingers of the gloves resist the effort to bend them. Astronauts must fight that pressure with every movement of their hand, which is exhausting and sometimes results in injury. Furthermore, the joints of the glove are subject to wear that can lead to life-threatening leaks. For this reason, the gloves are specially designed to aid astronauts' mobility. In a nutshell, spacesuits are basically wearable spacecrafts and can not only keep astronauts alive, but also feed them, allow them to communicate, and even be used as a toilet.

Would you like to be an astronaut? If you were an astronaut, what kind of spacesuit would you like to wear? You can share your comments with your friends on the following social media channels. Recently, claims have been circulating on social media that Mars will approach Earth and even appear as big as the full moon in the sky on August 27, This news, which emerged during a similar convergence in and was repeated from time to time, unfortunately is only a hoax, although it attracts the attention of the society to astronomy.

The claims spread so much that NASA made a statement , announcing that Mars would not look as big as a full moon.

Another of the Earth-Mars convergences that we will experience on August 27, took place on August 27, According to NASA's Mars Exploration Program, the distance between Mars and Earth has been shorter than ever before in the last 60, years and has dropped to about 56 million km. In this important astronomical event, Mars looked brighter than in previous ordinary convergences, but still was describes as a "bright red dot".

Unfortunately, no. On August 27, , or on any other date, Mars will not look as big from Earth as the full moon looks. Mars is about twice the size of the Moon. In this case, in order to appear as big as the Moon in the sky, it must be approximately thousand km away from us.

As far as the orbital mechanics of the solar system goes, it is impossible for Mars to come this close to us. Even if Mars were as close to Earth as the Moon would seem, the gravitational force would change the Earth's orbit, and this would create terrible tides; it would basically bring the end of the world.

The distance between Mars and Earth will decrease to We can say that the distance between the two planets is on average million km. The orbits of Earth and Mars are not circular, but elliptical, and the distance between them is constantly changing, as the time the two planets take to complete a full orbit around the Sun are different.

The The closest Mars and Earth position, similar to the one on July 31, , will occur in In , Mars reached its closest position with the Earth in the last 60 thousand years at a distance of Have you ever thought what would happen if an asteroid threatens to hit our world? During this time, thousands of students and teachers have attended our programs. All the feedback we received from our participants motivated us to do our work even better, and also helped us to improve ourselves.

According to the plan, the DART spacecraft will crash into the moonlet which is about meters in size , thus changing its speed and orbital period. A typical space mission of such sort takes several years from approval to launch. This means we must detect a dangerous asteroid years better, a decade before it comes close to Earth if we want to make a spacecraft to deflect it in time.

Thanks for reading this article! We wish you clear skies and happy observations! Contents What defines a potentially hazardous asteroid? How big does an asteroid have to be to damage? How many potentially hazardous asteroids are there? Is there an asteroid coming to Earth in ? How likely is an asteroid to hit Earth?

How do we spot near-Earth asteroids? How can we stop asteroids from hitting Earth? What defines a potentially hazardous asteroid? To be classified as potentially hazardous, an asteroid must meet two main criteria. The Chicxulub impactor that caused mass extinction on Earth 65 million years ago was about 10 kilometers in diameter.