ESA hires OHB Italia to prepare for launch of Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis

ESA has signed a €63 million contract with OHB Italia to begin preparatory work for the agency’s proposed Ramses mission to the asteroid Apophis.

On April 13, 2029, the 375-meter-diameter asteroid Apophis will pass within 32,000 kilometers of the Earth’s surface, less than a tenth of the distance separating the Earth from the Moon. This extremely rare natural phenomenon will attract the attention of the whole world. and will provide a unique opportunity for planetary defense science and research.

During the passage, large tidal forces will put pressure on the asteroid and likely expose new material below the surface. A space probe on Apophis could observe these changes and tell scientists a lot about the composition and structure of the asteroid, as well as how the asteroid reacts to external forces. We must understand these properties if we ever hope to divert a dangerous asteroid from its collision course with Earth.

ESA will propose such a mission for approval and funding at its next Ministerial Council meeting in 2025 as the next planetary defense mission in its space security programme. The spaceship will be based on Hera’s adaptation. ESA’s first mission to an asteroid, successfully launched on the 7th.

However, the Rapid Apophis Space Security Mission (Ramesses) will have to launch in early 2028 to reach Apophis. in time to study it as it passes through the Earth. Therefore, last July, ESA Member States approved the use of existing Agency funds to begin preparatory work for the consolidation/early implementation phase of the mission. This work will ensure that if the Ramses mission receives full support in 2025, its implementation will be feasible within this strict time frame.

The funds were provided through ESA’s General Technology Support Program and Space Security Program, and the agency, industry and all relevant stakeholders worked tirelessly together to minimize the time required to convert funds into a contract.

This Thursday, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and OHB Italia CEO Roberto Aceti signed the agreement. contract worth 63 million euros which will allow you to start working. The funds will be used to begin the procurement process for certain express delivery or long-life equipment, as well as to complete the overall development of the spacecraft, taking into account international cooperation opportunities currently being discussed.

“By developing and launching the Hera mission on time and on budget, we have demonstrated that ESA and its industrial and scientific partners can meet the tight deadlines required for asteroid missions,” says ESA’s Paolo Martino, who is overseeing the work. “With Ramses we raise the bar even higher

“We must therefore act now to ensure that if our member states decide to support the mission in 2025, we can hit the ground running and reach Apophis on time,” he added.