Asteroid Bagging: TransAstra's Bold Plan to Capture Space Rocks for Lunar Base

Daily Technology

19/03/2026

A private space company, TransAstra, has unveiled an ambitious and unconventional strategy to capture a near-Earth asteroid, bag it, and bring it back to a designated point near our planet. This innovative "New Moon" mission aims to create a resource hub in space, potentially revolutionizing future space exploration and manufacturing.

Key Takeaways

TransAstra plans to capture a house-sized asteroid (approx. 100 metric tons) using a large bag.
The captured asteroid would be relocated to a "safe" gathering point near Earth, possibly the Earth-Sun L2 point.
The long-term vision includes using the asteroid as a base for robotic research, materials processing, and in-space manufacturing.
Potential benefits include harvesting water for propellant and minerals for construction and solar panels.
A feasibility study is underway, with a potential mission rendezvous as early as 2028-2029.

The "New Moon" Mission Concept

TransAstra's groundbreaking proposal involves dispatching reusable, robotic spacecraft to intercept a small asteroid, estimated to be around 20 meters in diameter. Once located, the spacecraft will deploy a large bag to envelop the asteroid. The captured celestial body will then be towed to a predetermined location, envisioned as the Earth-Sun L2 point, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

A Future Space Resource Hub

The ultimate goal of the "New Moon" mission is to establish a base for robotic research and development, focusing on materials processing and in-space manufacturing. This initiative could significantly reduce the reliance on Earth-based resources and propellant launches. Joel Sercel, CEO of TransAstra, highlighted the potential for harvesting raw materials from asteroids, stating, "Long term, instead of building space hardware on the ground and launching propellant up from the Earth, we could harvest it from raw materials in space."

Target Asteroids and Potential Benefits

Sercel estimates that there are as many as 250 potential target asteroids within reach over the next decade. These small bodies could be aggregated at the "New Moon" facility, creating a substantial resource pool. Different types of asteroids could be targeted for their specific contents: C-type asteroids for water, crucial for propellant, and M-types for valuable metals.

Feasibility Study and Timeline

While the concept might seem futuristic, TransAstra is actively pursuing its feasibility. A study is currently in progress, expected to be completed by May, which will further refine the mission plan, trajectory, and necessary spacecraft. If the project receives full funding, the mission could see a rendezvous with an asteroid as early as 2028 or 2029. TransAstra is collaborating with institutions such as the University of Central Florida, Purdue University, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech to conduct this analysis.

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