http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/750614main_NASA_FY_2014_Budget_Estimates-508.pdf_sl said:
In FY 2014, NASA begins development of a first-of-its-kind mission to encounter and move an asteroid. Across the Agency, scientists, mission managers, technologists, and operations specialists are developing a multi-segment mission that begins with accelerating our detection of near-Earth asteroids and the selection of a target for this mission. NASA will advance the Nation's ability to track and characterize these objects and then assess other factors that affect their movement. By doing so, NASA can better model their trajectories and develop various methods for mitigating threats, which ultimately improves the ability of our Nation and others to protect the planet from potential asteroid impacts.
Still in early design, the second segment of the mission is the detailed reconnaissance and capture of a small, non-threatening asteroid and redirecting it to a stable, non-Earth threatening orbit in the Earth-moon system. This mission segment would also demonstrate new advanced solar electric propulsion technologies, capable of generating the higher levels of thrust and power necessary to capture and redirect a large object. Instruments would enable close-up examination of the asteroid, validation of the target selection, and determine the best angle of approach to capture and manage the asteroid spin rate. The mission will benefit from the development of sensors and techniques from Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) mission. The requirement for this mission to attach to the entire asteroid will require unique and challenging adaptation of these instruments and techniques. NASA will also refine and adopt in its spacecraft designs new advances in a variety of areas, including lightweight materials, communication, data storage and transfer, and space navigation.
The final segment of the mission will focus on human exploration of the asteroid using the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion MPCV). In this early mission for the Space Launch System and Orion MPCV, the crew will travel deeper into space than ever before to conduct advanced exploration and research with the target asteroid, and return samples of the asteroid to Earth.
