European Space Agency – ESA #SpaceSafety #PlanetaryDefence #Asteroids
#Apophis
“⏳▶️ Ramses mission preparations move forward to make it to Apophis in time There’s no time to lose if we want to be able to launch our #PlanetaryDefence mission Ramses in 2028, in time to observe the Apophis asteroid as it has its very close approach to Earth in April 2029. ESA’s Member States approved the use of existing Agency funds to begin preparatory work.
This work will ensure that, if the Ramses mission receives full support at the Ministerial Council Meeting 2025, its implementation is feasible within the very strict timeline. As a result, today a contract was signed with OHB Italia S.p.A. worth €63 million to begin this preparatory work.
Congratulations! 🎉👏👏 “By developing and launching the Hera mission on time and under budget, we have demonstrated that ESA and its industrial and scientific partners can meet the challenging deadlines required by asteroid missions,” says ESA’s Paolo Martino, who is overseeing the work. “With Ramses we are raising the bar even further, so we need to act now to ensure that, if our Member States decide to support the mission in 2025, we can hit the ground running and reach Apophis in time.” Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eWrus_NR Let’s go! “