A private space company has a radical new plan to bag an asteroid

In a bold vision for the future of space exploration, a Los Angeles-based company, TransAstra, has unveiled an ambitious proposal to capture a near-Earth asteroid. The concept involves sending a robotic spacecraft to envelop a small asteroid, roughly the size of a house, in a large bag and transporting it to a secure location near Earth. The initiative, dubbed the "New Moon" mission, has garnered the backing of an undisclosed client who will finance a feasibility study to explore this innovative approach. According to TransAstra's CEO, Joel Sercel, the goal is to establish a base for robotic research focused on materials processing and manufacturing in space. Sercel articulated a long-term vision where space hardware is not built on Earth but instead created using raw materials harvested from asteroids. He identified around 250 potential targets, with sizes reaching up to 20 meters in diameter, that could be accessed by reusable spacecraft within the next decade. The proposed processing facility could be situated at the Earth-Sun L2 point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from our planet. By aggregating multiple small asteroids, TransAstra aims to utilize their resources, including water for propellant and minerals for various applications, such as solar panels and radiation shielding. Different types of asteroids will be considered for their specific resources, with C-type asteroids being targeted for water and M-types for metals. While the concept may seem futuristic, Sercel emphasizes the importance of the feasibility study, set to be completed by May, which will refine the mission plan, trajectory, and spacecraft requirements. If all goes as planned and funding is secured, the mission could see a rendezvous with an asteroid as soon as 2028 or 2029. TransAstra is collaborating with institutions such as the University of Central Florida, Purdue University, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech to bring this groundbreaking vision closer to reality.