NASA’s Administrator Charles Bolden. Image credit: NASA

[Satellite TODAY 7-29-13] NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Seung Jo Kim, met in Washington D.C. on July 29 to discuss collaboration in aeronautics research and space exploration, including KARI’s robotic lunar mission and NASA’s asteroid initiative. Bolden and Kim also discussed NASA’s plans for a new asteroid initiative, previously announced in President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal.

       NASA’s asteroid initiative involves robotically capturing a small near-Earth asteroid and redirecting it safely to a stable lunar orbit where astronauts can explore it. The knowledge gained from the initiative will help protect planet Earth, advance exploration capabilities and technologies for human spaceflight, and improve the use of space resources, according to a written statement from NASA.