"Minimoons: Key to Interplanetary Species, According to MIT Astrophysicist"

MIT astrophysicist Richard Binzel believes that minimoons, small asteroids moving alongside Earth, could serve as stepping stones for interplanetary exploration, particularly in missions to Mars. By utilizing in-space resources such as water-rich asteroids, the need to launch fuel from Earth could be minimized, overcoming the limitations imposed by the "tyranny of the rocket" equation. Binzel emphasizes the importance of surveying for minimoons and asteroids, highlighting the potential of space telescopes like the NEO Surveyor mission. While he envisions humans becoming an interplanetary species within the next 30 years, he sees minimoons playing a role in the initial steps of leaving the Earth-moon system for deep space exploration.