Would you like to see an Astronaut go to an Asteroid? - Have you seen this?

Bob asked me ---
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Mr. Kellogg:

Did you see this article?

Bob MacBird
Conroe, Texas

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1950258,00.html
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I had not, and proceeded to bend Bob's ear about some questions I had with the article as it stated that Dr. Chris McKay was a deputy scientist in the Constellation science office at the NASA Johnson Space Center.

Maybe so, but there is a David McKay at JSC and I know a Chris McKay that works at NASA Ames Research Center, so I wondered if Chris was also now at JSC too. Things have changed around at Ames since I left and for all I know Chris could be working at JSC or at Ames or both.

That sent me off looking to see what I could find about what was happening at Ames and whether Chris was now at JSC.

I found a Space.com link and it reads better but still left questions.
- LRK -

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http://www.space.com/news/061116_asteroid_nasa.html
NASA Studies Manned Asteroid Mission
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 16 November 2006
06:32 am ET

NASA is appraising a human mission to a near-Earth asteroid-gauging the scientific merit of the endeavor while testing out spacecraft gear, as well as mastering techniques that could prove useful if a space rock ever took aim for our planet.

Space agency teams are looking into use of Constellation hardware for a human Near-Earth Object (NEO) mission-an effort underway at NASA's Ames Research. Another study is delving into use of Constellation components to support an automated Mars sample return mission. That study is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Snip

"A human mission to a near Earth asteroid would be scientifically worthwhile," said Chris McKay, deputy scientist in the Constellation science office at the NASA Johnson Space Center. "It could be part of an overall program of understanding these objects. Also, it would be useful, instrumentally, in terms of understanding the threat they pose to the Earth."

Stationed at NASA's Ames Research Center located in California's Silicon Valley, McKay told SPACE.com that work is underway to evaluate the science enabled by sending crews to asteroids, and to judge how best to assure safe and efficient exploration.

Snip
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Hmmm, Chis Mckay at Johnson Space Center in Texas, and at Ames in Silicon Valley California. I know Chris is tall and lanky but ....

The headlines are a little different in the Guardian article.
- LRK -

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1950258,00.html
Wanted: man to land on killer asteroid and gently nudge it from path to Earth

. Nasa evokes Hollywood in effort to avoid catastrophe
. Mission would bridge gap between moon and Mars

David Adam
Friday November 17, 2006
The Guardian

It is the stuff of nightmares and, until now, Hollywood thrillers. A huge asteroid is on a catastrophic collision course with Earth and mankind is poised to go the way of the dinosaurs.

To save the day, Nasa now plans to go where only Bruce Willis has gone before. The US space agency is drawing up plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid hurtling through space at more than 30,000 mph. It wants to know whether humans could master techniques needed to deflect such a doomsday object when it is eventually identified. The proposals are at an early stage, and a spacecraft needed just to send an astronaut that far into space exists only on the drawing board, but they are deadly serious. A smallish asteroid called Apophis has already been identified as a possible threat to Earth in 2036.

Snip
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Uumm, You may want to read both articles and then an interview with Simon "Pete" Warden the new Director at Ames Research Center.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasatech.com/NEWS/Oct06/who_1006.html
Dr. Simon "Pete" Worden
Center Director, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Snip
Another example is the Virtual Environment Interface for Remote Inspection.
This is one of the concepts that Dr. Steve Ellis here at Ames is studying, and this has a number of applications, particularly telesurgery, control of unmanned aerial vehicles, and more issues related to air traffic control. These are the kinds of efforts that are coming out of a lot of the space-related applications that NASA does with regard to day-to-day life here on Earth. One thing that has not been fully defined that the agency is heavily involved in developing is what we're going to do about Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) or asteroids. This is an area that Congress mandated NASA take a good look at, particularly the detection and characterization of potentially threatening, small NEOs. These are objects that are down to 100 meters in size that hit the planet every so often, and the last one we know of that hit, in 1908, had the force of several megatons and flattened a forest in Siberia at Tunguska. We are very deeply involved here at Ames, along with some of the other centers, in supporting studies at NASA Headquarters as to how we might meet this issue. And indeed, in the end, NASA has been asked that if we detect one of these things, what should we do about mitigating it? This is an exciting effort-I think it is about as exciting as you can get, trying to figure out how to play cosmic two-shot billiards.
Snip
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Also a more sober statement that the Constellation Program Milestone Review has been completed.
- LRK -
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http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061116/dcth044.html?.v=68
NASA Completes Milestone Review of Next Human Spacecraft System Thursday November 16, 1:47 pm ET Snip

Once the project-level reviews are complete, the Constellation Program will hold another full review to reconcile the baseline from this first review with any updates from the project reviews. A lunar architecture systems review of equipment associated with surface exploration and science activities on the moon is expected in the spring of 2009.
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Talk about Asteroids, talk about Mars, talk about going to the Stars, but first to the Moon Please, the money is in a squeeze.

Maybe one of you can tell me if Dr. Christopher McKay still works at NASA Ames Research Center. I can still find a phone number for him there. :-)

Maybe will just CC him on this post.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsltr.: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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[Google News is good at telling you the last links you were just at.
Altogether the search found 27 articles and listed 13 here. - LRK -

You might look at the headlines and even see how the articles are twisted.
I hope Chris McKay knows where he works, maybe both at Ames and JSC.
- LRK -
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http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&ncl=1111267739
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http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/18/stories/2006111801432200.htm
Getting set to deflect asteroids that may one day head for the ...
Hindu, India - 22 hours ago
It is the stuff of nightmares and, until now, Hollywood thrillers. A huge asteroid is on a catastrophic collision course with the ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1950167,00.html
Wanted: man to land on killer asteroid
Guardian Unlimited, UK - Nov 16, 2006
It is the stuff of nightmares and, until now, Hollywood thrillers. A huge asteroid is on a catastrophic collision course with Earth ...

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061116/dcth044.html?.v=68
NASA Completes Milestone Review of Next Human Spacecraft System Yahoo! News (press release) - Nov 16, 2006 WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA has completed a milestone first review of all systems for the Orion spacecraft and the Ares I and Ares V rockets. ...

http://www.space.com/news/061116_asteroid_nasa.html
NASA Studies Manned Asteroid Mission
Space.com - Nov 16, 2006
By Leonard David. NASA is appraising a human mission to a near-Earth asteroid-gauging the scientific merit of the endeavor while ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15750600/
NASA studies sending crew to asteroid
MSNBC - Nov 16, 2006
By Leonard David. NASA is appraising a human mission to a near-Earth asteroid - gauging the scientific merit of the endeavor while ...

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/10589.html
NASA mulling possible manned asteroid landing Earthtimes.org - Nov 17, 2006 CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA officials are mulling the possibility of dispatching a manned mission to an asteroid sometime soon. Teams ...

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23374864-details/'Armageddon'+asteroid-busting+mission+may+lift+off+for+real/article.do
'Armageddon' asteroid-busting mission may lift off for real This is London, UK - Nov 17, 2006 Hollywood got there first, with the Bruce Willis film Armageddon. But now Nasa is drawing up its own emergency plans for what to ...

http://www.shortnews.com/shownews.cfm?id=58373&CFID=9365213&CFTOKEN=74900031

Nasa Searches for 'Bruce Willis'
ShortNews.com, Germany - Nov 16, 2006
In 2036, experts claim, an asteroid named Apophis might strike the earth and cause global disaster. Nasa's solution: move the rock ...

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l63093
Wanted: Man To Land On Killer Asteroid And Gently Nudge From Path ...
AND, South Africa - Nov 16, 2006
By (AND) - www.andnetwork.com. It is the stuff of nightmares and, until now, Hollywood thrillers. A huge asteroid is on a catastrophic ...
NASA Might Send Astronauts To An Asteroid

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005541529
All Headline News - Nov 16, 2006
Cape Canaveral, FL (AHN) - NASA officials are thinking about sending astronauts to a big rock sometime soon. The trip would be to an asteroid near Earth. ...

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/16/1456222
NASA Proposes Manned Asteroid Mission
Slashdot - Nov 16, 2006
eldavojohn writes "NASA has proposed a manned asteroid mission to a near earth object. They mention this being viewed as a "gap-filler ...

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200611171150.htm
NASA explores ways of deflecting asteroid strikes Hindu, India - Nov 16, 2006 By David Adam. NASA evokes Hollywood in effort to avoid catastrophe in a mission that would bridge gap between moon and Mars. It ...

http://presszoom.com/story_121330.html
NASA Completes Milestone Review of Next Human Spacecraft System PressZoom (press release), Netherlands - 23 hours ago NASA has completed a milestone first review of all systems for the Orion spacecraft and the Ares I and Ares V rockets. The review ...

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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