Forget all this talk about manned missions to Mars; is it time to scale back US space plans and land on an asteroid instead, Armageddon style? Earlier this year, in response to a request from John Holdren, the White House’s Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA empaneled a committee and charged them with evaluating the future of US manned space flight. After a series of public meetings and the earlier release of an executive summary, its final report has been released.

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Mars can wait; NASA should try landing on asteroids first