The competing plans will be discussed at a two-day NASA workshop in Washington DC starting today. The winner will be announced next year. NASA has officially classified RQ36 as a 'potentially hazardous asteroid' as it passes within about 280,000 miles of Earth. Its orbit, which brings it closer to Earth, makes it easier to reach than other asteroids.
Michael Drake, who would lead the OSIRIS-Rex team if the project was chosen, said: "Being one of the easiest targets to get to coincidentally means that is can easily hit us, too." An expert panel appointed by President Obama to assess NASA's future space programme last year recommended bypassing the Moon in favor of a mission to land on an unidentified asteroid.
Even The European Space Agency has announced a 2008 plan to select a small asteroid near Earth and send a spacecraft to drill for dust and rubble for analysis.
Wow, Stephen Hawkings prediction alignment (predicted we have 2 centuries at most on Earth), NASA's mission, presidential panel recommendations, and European efforts all sort of align. Wonder what the future holds...