President Barack Obama wants NASA to start work on finding a small asteroid that could be shifted into an orbit near the moon with the intention of eventually sending astronauts on a mission to Mars, agency officials said on Wednesday (April 10).<br /> <br />NASA has been developing a heavy-lift rocket and deep-space capsule that could carry astronauts beyond the International Space Station.<br /> <br />The project entails finding a 23- to 33-foot (7 to 10-meter) wide asteroid, capturing it, then towing or pushing it toward Earth so it ends up in a stable orbit near the moon.<br /> <br />Astronauts would then land on the asteroid and bring back soil and rock samples for analysis.<br /> <br />Interest in potentially threatening asteroids peaked after a small asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia on February 15, shattering windows and damaging buildings. About 1,500 people were injured by flying glass and debris.<br /> <br />The system would be capable of traveling to the moon, asteroids and eventually to Mars,
