Good news, space junkies: NASA is planning a cosmic heist so audacious, so empirically cool, that it will make the standard orbital mission look like a trip to the corner store. The plan? NASA hopes to grab a rock off a passing asteroid, steal it, then deposit it into orbit around the moon.

The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) is in very early planning stages, but if the space agency can pull it off, it will have multiple benefits for our species. It will help us learn how to deflect an asteroid, should one be spotted headed toward Earth. And it will also give us a kind of lunar gas station for planning future Mars missions. Oh, it's a trip, man. Trace Dominguez has the details in today's DNews report.

Read More:

NASA: What Is NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission?

NASA: How Will NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission Help Humans Reach Mars?

Space: NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission Emerges From First Planning Stages