Nasa's plan to save Earth: Space agency reveals mock-up of a robot that will lasso an asteroid in 2021 and place it in orbit around the moon

Nasa is planning an ambitious mission that will see a robotic spaceship visit an asteroid to create an orbiting base for astronauts. The robot shipwill pluck a large boulder off the space rock and sling it aroundthe moon, becoming a destination to prepare for futurehuman missions to Mars. Nasa also plans to study the asteroid and test deflection techniques that one day may be necessary to save Earth from a potentially catastrophic collision. Now the space agency has created a mock-up of its robot arm and tested it using a mock asteroid boulder. The robot ship will pluck a large boulder off an asteroid and sling it around the moon, becoming a destination to prepare for future human missions to Mars.