The AIAA Space 2005 Conference (19 - 21 Sep 2006 in San Jose, California) will have a specific section dedicated to NEOs. The session will be in the session entitled “Logistics/ Recovery and Exploitation of Near-Earth Objects.”
Note: Paper abstracts are due by January 13, 2006.
"The close approach of the 1,059-foot-wide asteroid Apophis in 2029 and 2036 offers the potential that this or other near-Earth objects (NEO) could be captured and placed into a high Earth orbit, such as at an Earth–moon or Earth–sun Lagrangian site. Papers could address the means and methods for practically capturing such NEOs to eliminate future potential of their impacting the Earth, as well as to provide a significant source of extraterrestrial materials for future in-space logistics activities. Papers could identify practical means for recovering material from the NEOs, identify potentially attractive commercial applications of these materials, and identify the means to transport and process the materials. Papers could also identify specific orbital trajectories for capturing the NEOs and for conducting preliminary investigations and demonstrations, on a smaller scale, of the capture mechanisms. Finally, papers could identify beneficial space transportation and logistics infrastructure that would enable both the deflection of threatening NEOs or to enable their capture."
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