ESA mission to be launched to observe colossal asteroid Apophis – DW – 16.07.2024

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Tuesday initial funding for a mission to send a spacecraft to study the giant asteroid Apophis, which will hit planet Earth in 2029. The cruise ship-sized object, known as asteroid 99942 Apophis, is about 375 meters (1,285 feet) long from end to end. It is scheduled to pass within 32,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) of Earth’s surface on April 13, 2029, according to ESA. The space agency said the spacecraft would “rendezvous” with the asteroid “and accompany it during its safe but exceptionally close flyby of Earth in 2029.”

The Rapid Apophis for Space Security (Ramses) mission was designed to study the asteroid’s size and orbit as Earth’s gravity alters its physical characteristics, the European agency said. ESA has been given the go-ahead to begin preparatory work on Ramses, which is scheduled to launch in April 2028 and reach Apophis two months before the flyby. A decision on whether to approve the full mission will be made in November 2025.

Apophis will be visible to the naked eye

“There’s still a lot to learn about asteroids, but until now we’ve had to travel to the depths of the solar system to study them and conduct experiments ourselves on how they interact with their surfaces,” said Patrick Michel of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). “This is the first time that nature has brought it to us and conducted the experiment itself. All we have to do is watch Apophis being ‘stretched and squeezed’ by tidal forces, which could trigger landslides and reveal new material beneath the surface.”

Astronomers have said that objects the size of Apophis come this close to Earth only once every 5,000 to 10,000 years. The celestial object, which scientists say is not expected to collide with Earth for at least the next 100 years, will be visible to the naked eye in clear, dark skies to about 2 billion people across much of Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, the ESA said.

(DPA)