NASA to unsheath giant asteroid space probe NASA has given the go-ahead to start building the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft for its 2016 mission to rendezvous with asteroid Bennu. Youtube Video The team that will run the space agency's first attempt to collect samples from an asteroid and …
I think 'Security' == funding. NASA's description of the mission speaks mainly about mining stuff from asteroids, downplaying the bit where (some say) Bennu has a one-tenth percent chance of colliding with Earth by 2199. I'm sure the boffins suggested finding out what Bennu is made of is helpful both to mining studies as well as figuring out what's needed to perhaps blow the thing up.
Possible collision by 2199? I don't think Bruce Willis is going to last that long. Unless they freeze him and thaw him out for the job.
Acronyms are not getting any better are they? maybe it's time to just give these things a simple name like Bob and then a description of it's basic function; e.g. Bob the asteroid spy! etc.
I am sure though that someone can come up with something better than that.
The chances of funding are proportional to the effort put into the (b)ac(k)ronym. Politicians gladly fund a project named OSIRIS-REx, however tenuous the connection between name and purpose, they might go for Yet Another Asteroid Bashing Attempt (YAABA) because you can at least pronounce it, but Probe For Planetoid Research (PFPR) stands little chance
Where radiation is concerned you've got 2 options.
a) Haul hundreds of tonnes of shielding up the gravity well
b) Dig into a passing 'roid and enjoy a couple of metres of solid rock as you cruise around the solar system, with plenty of space to mount PV panels, stores etc.
(Cautious) thumbs up, but it's a long way to launch day.
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