Landing on the moon takes years to figure out. (How, when, what is the purpose, etc.) Capturing an asteroid is beyond difficult and would also take years to figure out how to do so.
Launching a space probe has yet to be done BUT we have had a satellite launched (hence how we get satellite images.)
When Columbus stumbled upon the Americas, he and his crew were carrying numerous diseases, including smallpox, which killed 50% - 90% of the Native people's population.
Important factor defining the desert biomes is its tendency to lose water by evaporation, and this potential for water loss exceeds the annual rainfall and defines what organism can live in there.
