Opportunities for asteroid retrieval missions

Abstract

Recently, significant interest has been devoted to the understanding of minor bodies of the Solar System, including near-Earth and main belt asteroids and comets. NASA, ESA and JAXA have conceived a series of missions to obtain data from such bodies, having in mind that their characterisation not only provides a deeper insight into the Solar System, but also represents a technological challenge for space exploration. Near Earth Objects in particular have also stepped into prominence because of two important aspects: they are among the easiest celestial bodies to reach from the Earth and they may represent a potential impact threat. This increased interest has encouraged the research community to propose further asteroid engineering projects, such as NEO retrieval missions, taking advantage of the synergies with current minor bodies search campaigns and asteroid manipulation technology development initiatives.