Asteroid Redirect Mission
2013–2017 proposed NASA space mission / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), also known as the Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization (ARU) mission and the Asteroid Initiative, was a space mission proposed by NASA in 2013; the mission was later cancelled. The Asteroid Retrieval Robotic Mission (ARRM) spacecraft would rendezvous with a large near-Earth asteroid and use robotic arms with anchoring grippers to retrieve a 4-meter boulder from the asteroid.
The spacecraft would characterize the asteroid and demonstrate at least one planetary defense technique before transporting the boulder to a stable lunar orbit, where it could be further analyzed both by robotic probes and by a future crewed mission, Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM).[1] If funded, the mission would have launched in December 2021,[2] with the additional objectives to test a number of new capabilities needed for future human expeditions to deep space, including advanced ion thrusters.[3]
The proposed 2018 NASA budget called for its cancellation,[4] the mission was given its notice of defunding in April 2017,[5] and NASA announced the "close out" on June 13, 2017.[5] Key technologies being developed for ARM have continued, especially the ion thruster propulsion system that would have been flown on the robotic mission.