WASHINGTON: NASA wants to grab a small asteroid and tow it into orbit around the moon, as part of a long-range plan toward establishing permanent manned outposts in space, according to a US senator.

To get the project off the ground, US President Barack Obama will propose around $ 100 million for the US space agency in his 2014 budget, which he submits to Congress on Wednesday, Senator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “This is part of what will be a much broader program,” the Florida Democrat explained. “The plan combines the science of mining an asteroid, along with developing ways to deflect one, along with providing a place to develop ways we can go to Mars.”

The plan calls for a robotic-spacecraft to capture the asteroid and tow it back toward Earth, ultimately leaving it in a stable orbit around the moon, close enough that, within eight years, astronauts could head on over. “It would be mankind’s first attempt at modifying the heavens to enable the permanent settlement of humans in space,” scientists said in their report.

Once there, “there could be mining activities, research into ways of deflecting an asteroid from striking Earth, and testing to develop technology for a trip to deep space and Mars,” Nelson’s statement said.