One step backwards (Step zero)

From: Victor Smith victors@...

"...it doesn't seem to me to be an insurmountable obstacle to effect a landing on a NEO at closest approach,...modify the orbit to bring the target rock to Earth at one of the L-Points or even to orbit the planet. "
"...granted, our current level of accomplishment in space industrialization doesn't allow for this, but it's mostly off the shelf tech. "

Some of it is. The reminderof thechallenges fall between what we could reasonable infer and thus engineer and that which we are really don't know much.That pretty much describes any extraterrestrial mining and resource extraction.Any plan we pursue(Moon or asteroids) to provide raw materials for space industry isa multi-decade venture.Ultimately either path takes us where we should go in the long term. However, for the near term decades I'd perfer working on the moon. It is closer and the scientific / engineeringdevelopment cycles should be faster.

"Part of O'bamas' plan for NASA has us visiting an asteroid in the next decade, and with some advanced planning and a bit of a push to the tech boys I could see the mission leaving behind robots that could at least begin the task of mining materials to be utilized, during a follow-up visit, to set up a mass driver propulsion unit and crew quarters installed within the excavations. One small step at a time..."
We can hope.Of course, if it was intendedas part of a long term effortof space development,wouldn't itstart asa series ofentirely arobotic missions rather than just one singlehuman adventure?