NASA is on a mission with a difference

It aims to develop a robotic spaceship to capture a flying asteroid and park it near the Moon for astronauts to explore and study it.

“The robotic ship would capture a 450 metric-tonne, 7.6-metre asteroid in 2019”,said newstalkzb.co.nz’s report.

It adds:“Then an Orion space capsule with a crew of about four would nuzzle up to the rock in 2021 for spacewalking exploration.

This will help NASA develop the capability to nudge away a dangerous asteroid if one heads to Earth in the future.”