In 2004, the world held its breath as astronomers discovered the asteroid 99942 Apophis, ominously named after the Egyptian god of chaos. Initially, there was a significant chance of this city-sized space rock colliding with Earth in 2029 or 2068, sparking widespread fear. However, subsequent observations ruled out these threats.
Despite this, the possibility of a future asteroid impact remains a real danger. Recognizing this, space agencies are actively developing strategies to deflect such celestial threats. A pivotal step was taken in 2021 with NASA’s DART mission, which successfully altered the orbit of a small asteroid by intentionally crashing into it, proving the feasibility of asteroid deflection technology.
The looming threat of asteroid impacts has spurred intense scientific inquiry. A critical obstacle to effective planetary defense is the limited understanding of asteroid composition and shape. To bridge this knowledge gap, space agencies are mobilizing missions to study these celestial bodies up close.
One such target is Apophis, a near-Earth asteroid set to make an exceptionally close approach to our planet in 2029. NASA’s repurposed OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, now dubbed OSIRIS-APEX, is already en route to rendezvous with Apophis, aiming to map its surface and analyze its composition.
Complementing this effort, the European Space Agency has greenlit the Ramses mission, designed to study the asteroid’s behavior as it is influenced by Earth’s gravity. This unprecedented opportunity to observe an asteroid before, during, and after a close planetary encounter promises invaluable insights into asteroid dynamics, formation, and potential hazards.
