Apparently some, including some in NASA, are thinking about sending humans to an asteroid. That would be the coolest idea. MSNBC reports [links original]:
A plan to send a crew of astronauts to an asteroid is gaining momentum, both within NASA and industry circles.
Not only would the deep space sojourn shake out hardware, it would also build confidence in long-duration stints at the moon and Mars. At the same time, the trek would sharpen skills to deal with a future space rock found on a collision course with Earth.
The plan would be to go to a near-Earth object, not all the way to the Asteroid Belt (beyond Mars). But this could be a dry-run for a longer mission to Mars.
There would be no landing on the asteroid. Rather, they would park in close proximity, then jet backpack onto the object. Once there, science gear would be deployed as samples of the space rock are gathered — on the order of a couple hundred pounds (100 kilograms).
"We assume staying at the asteroid for five days. They could stay a week or two. But staying for a month gets hard," Hopkins explained. While on duty, astronauts would engage in gathering data useful to understand the internal makeup of the asteroid. That, in turn, is solidly helpful, he added, in dealing with harmful space rocks on a worrisome trajectory dangerous to Earth.
Such as figuring out how to divert one on a collision course with Earth.
Unfortunately, the Obama Administration hasn't made space a priority. Humans haven't left low Earth Orbit since the end of the Apollo missions. This mission could be a stepping stone to longer missions to Mars or the Moon. And it would cost less than a couple hundred stimulus jobs, most likely.
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