A trio of missions is on the way to intercept and study the duration of asteroid process near Earth its close encounter with our planet in 2029.
The 1,100 wide asteroid (340 meters) Process It is ready for a closed brush but not Threating with Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, and agencies around the world seek to make the most of this. Unique opportunity.
Ramses (abbreviation for “rapid mission of apophis for space security”) European Space Agency (That) mission is built on the heritage of the Hera Mission of monitoring the asteroid directed by Nasas Dart Planetary Defense Mission, is progressing well, according to Monica Lazzarin, professor at the University of Padua in Italy. Lazzarin presented an update on the mission at the Europanet Science Congress (EPSC) and the Planetary Sciences Division (DPS) in Helsinki on September 8.
Ramses, scheduled to launch in the spring of 2028, aims to approach Apophis and characterize the asteroid In detail, including orbit, rotation state, internal structure and surface changes, and study how the natural tide forces of the nearby planetary encounter with land affect it, said Lazzarin.
However, the mission requires a final financing decision of the Crucial Ministerial Council of ESA in Bremen, Germany, at the end of November, when the Member States of the Agency meet to make key decisions on future space missions and strategies.
If it flies, Ramses will also carry two CUBEÑO That will be launched before the closed meeting, one of which Could land in the asteroidCarrying a navigation, seismometer and magnetometer chamber. The mission will also involve international cooperation, with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) Provide a thermal infrared chamber and other instruments.
Beyond this, Jaxa has its own plans to visit Apophis. IS Destination+ Mission, designed to study the main body of the Geminid meteor showerIt has been beaten by delays in the development of the rocket in which it was initially planned to launch, the solid fuel rocket of Epsilon.
However, the delay has brought a new opportunity, and the mission will now also find Apophis before addressing its final destination, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Lazzarin declared that Ramses will be released with Destiny+ on a Japanese flagship H3 rocket.
NASA is also involved in Apophis’s observation. The agencies Osiris-Apexan extended mission of the agency project to test the asteroid BennuHe is ongoing and prepares for the meeting with Apophis, said Michael Nolan, the attached principal investigator of the mission, at the EPSC-DPS meeting.
While this mission is already in space and route, its status is not done. The Trump Administration Budget application earlier this year I would see Osiris-Apex canceled. Despite the budgetary challenges, the mission is to process with plans for the Asteroid Meeting, assuming the continuation, hoping that Congress approves a language that contains the bill that would save the mission.
Together, the three spacecraft, if everything goes well, will be combined for a greater understanding of Apophis and his encounter with the land of whatever possible. Operational teams are discussing coordination activities to optimize observations and data collection.
“The spacecraft has different strengths,” said Nolan. “With the scientific teams that speak with each other, we can say:” If you make this observation, we can make that observation, “and that is something better than any of us could do separately.”
Apophis will approach the earth safely closer than the orbits of the geosyncronos satellites on April 13, 2029. In addition to the visitor spacecraft, 2 billion people can see the event With the naked eye.
