{"id":36116,"date":"2025-09-01T08:13:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T08:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/36116\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T08:13:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T08:13:16","slug":"esa-and-jaxa-to-seize-ultra-rare-chance-to-study-a-1230-foot-asteroid-in-a-close-earth-flyby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/36116\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA and JAXA to seize ultra-rare chance to study a 1,230-foot asteroid in a close Earth flyby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"An<\/a>An artists depiction of the Ramses mission (Image source: ESA-Science Office; edited)<\/p>\n

Asteroid Apophis is projected to fly past Earth at close range in 2029. ESA, in collaboration with JAXA, is making preparations to observe Apophis\u2019 reaction to Earth\u2019s gravity and tidal forces as it passes by.<\/p>\n

ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are collaborating on the Ramses (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) mission. The Ramses mission will launch a spacecraft that will meet with Apophis and accompany it as it flies past Earth on April 13, 2029. <\/p>\n

Apophis is an asteroid that measures about 375 meters (1,230 feet) across. ESA compares its size to that of a cruise liner. With Ramses, ESA intends to study what the inner parts of the asteroid are made of. Apophis will come within 32,000 kilometers of the Earth\u2019s surface. At that close distance, it is expected that Earth\u2019s gravity and tidal forces will alter the physical characteristics of Apophis and expose what lies beneath the asteroid\u2019s surface. <\/p>\n

ESA wants the Ramses spacecraft to be close enough to Apophis before and after its flyby with Earth. This will ensure scientists get a good picture of the changes that the asteroid might undergo during the flyby. <\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security \u2013 Apophis Explorer) will also be at Apophis for observations. However, it will only arrive about one month after the asteroid has passed Earth. <\/p>\n

Understanding the composition of asteroids like Apophis is critical to planetary defense. Missions like Ramses will prepare humankind to defend against future asteroids that might be on course to collide with Earth. Hera is another such mission and is already in operation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ramses, however, is yet to be approved by the ESA\u2019s Ministerial Council. A November 2025 meeting will determine whether it is approved or not. JAXA has also tabled an official funding request to Japan\u2019s Government. If approved, Ramses will have to launch as early as April 2028 to make it to Apophis by February 2029. This will ensure it observes Apophis before it is affected by tidal forces.<\/p>\n

NASA<\/a> and ESA: 1<\/a> and 2<\/a> <\/p>\n

Image source: ESA (linked above)<\/p>\n

\"Chibuike<\/a>Chibuike Okpara<\/a> – Tech Writer – 155 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2024<\/p>\n

I have always been fascinated by technology and digital devices my entire life and even got addicted to it. I have always marveled at the intricacy of even the simplest digital devices and systems around us. I have been writing and publishing articles online for about 6 years now, just about a year ago, I found myself lost in the marvel of smartphones and laptops we have in our hands every day. I developed a passion for learning about new devices and technologies that come with them and at some point, I asked myself, “Why not get into writing tech articles?” It is useless to say I followed up the idea \u2014 it is evident. I am an open-minded individual who derives an infinite amount of joy from researching and discovering new information, I believe there is so much to learn and such a short life to live, so I put my time to good use \u2014 learning new things. I am a ‘bookworm’ of the internet and digital devices. When I am not writing, you will find me on my devices still, I do explore and admire the beauty of nature and creatures. I am a fast learner and quickly adapt to changes, always looking forward to new adventures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An artists depiction of the Ramses mission (Image source: ESA-Science Office; edited) Asteroid Apophis is projected to fly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[28016,1820,18,6145,1821,19,17,15518,1815,1819,1814,1822,28015,1818,1142,1143,133,451,1817,1816],"class_list":{"0":"post-36116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-apophis","9":"tag-benchmarks","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-esa","12":"tag-graphics-card","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-jaxa","16":"tag-laptop","17":"tag-netbook","18":"tag-notebook","19":"tag-processor","20":"tag-ramses","21":"tag-reports","22":"tag-review","23":"tag-reviews","24":"tag-science","25":"tag-space","26":"tag-test","27":"tag-tests"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}