CNN —When a cruise liner-size asteroid comes within 19,883 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth on April 13, 2029, it won’t be alone.
The European Space Agency has announced that its new Ramses spacecraft may accompany the asteroid Apophis before and after its safe, albeit rather close, pass of Earth.
Astronomers think that an asteroid this large comes within such proximity to Earth only once every 5,000 to 10,000 years.
In September 2022, NASA’s DART mission intentionally slammed a spacecraft into Dimorphos, a moonlet asteroid that orbits a larger parent asteroid known as Didymos.
“The Ramses mission concept reuses much of the technology, expertise and industrial and science communities developed for the Hera mission,” said Paolo Martino, spacecraft manager for Hera who will also work on the Ramses mission, in a statement.
Persons:
won’t, Ramses, Apophis, Apophis doesn’t, ”, Patrick Michel, ” Michel, Richard Moissl, NASA’s, OSIRIS, REx, “ Apophis, Hera, Paolo Martino, “ Hera
Organizations:
CNN, European Space Agency, NASA’s Center, Studies, ESA, NASA, System, National Centre for Scientific Research, NSF, JPL, Caltech, ESA’s Planetary Defence Office, APEX
Locations:
Europe, Africa, Asia, Apophis, France