In the next decade NASA plans to catch and redirect an asteroid. The question is, how will astronauts lasso and move around on a space rock? One option is using a space anchor, according to a Missouri University of Science & Technology design.

Missouri S& T students are working to design an anchoring device that will allow astronauts to clip in and move around on a wrangled asteroid. The device could be used during a human mission as part of NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission or ARM. The ARM objective is to visit a large near-Earth asteroid, collect a sample and redirect it into orbit around the moon. The same techniques could be used for Martian missions in the 2030s, according to NASA.

Now back to the whole walking around on a moving asteroid objective.

Life often imitates art, and the White House is hoping that theory can prevail when it extends to space travel.

As Gizmodo reports, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology brought together scientists, engineers, artists and policymakers as part of a workshop a few weeks ago to talk about what space colonization will look like and what it will mean for humanity. It was basically a “big idea” summit, with an interesting mix of perspectives imagining what a future in the stars might look like.

The summit was broken into several categories:

Mr. Bezos introduced reporters to Blue Origin for the first time on Tuesday, offering updates on his space tourism plans and a new engine that is being developed.

Private space company Blue Origin expects it will launch its first human test flights into space in 2017.

Not a great time to be living on Mars, me thinks. wink

Space is so metal.