On that night, something unprecedented will unfold above our heads.
For the first time in history, humanity will have the chance to closely observe a Near-Earth asteroid as it makes an unprecedented close approach to our Planet. The target? To study how Earth’s gravity affects the internal structure of a small celestial body.
The visitor is #Apophis, a “peanut-shaped” asteroid about 370 metres long (roughly three football fields), which will pass at just 31,000 km from Earth, that is 5,000 km below geostationary orbit. An encounter of such proximity has never been recorded before.
To study this exceptional encounter in real time, Europe is preparing #RAMSES, a fast-paced ESA mission led by OHB Italia S.p.A., designed to rendezvous with Apophis shortly after the flyby. What makes this even more extraordinary is the #timeline: while a mission of this complexity would normally require ten years, RAMSES must be ready for launch by April 2028, in just four years from go-ahead (and one has already passed!). There is no room for delays. As Angelo Vallerani, Head of Institutional Relations at OHB Italia S.p.A. , notes: “It is a race against time.”
RAMSES will deploy optical and spectroscopic #cameras to analyse the asteroid’s chemical composition, together with a plasma #spectrometer to study how the solar wind interacts with its surface.
Why does this matter?
Because asteroids are #timecapsules: primordial relics from the early Solar System, unchanged for 4.5 billion years. Understanding their interior structure brings us closer to answering a centuries-old question: how do planets form and how do the conditions for life emerge?
It is also a powerful exercise in #PlanetaryDefence: if one day an asteroid ever posed a concrete threat, the capability to prepare and launch a mission rapidly could make the difference.
And the best part?
On 13 April 2029, Apophis will be visible from Earth as a moving point of light for several hours. We will all be able to witness the moment before RAMSES chases it down in deep space.
The #countdown has begun.
RAMSES is coming.
Read more on FOCUS Magazine – article of #VitoTartamella
#RAMSES #Apophis2029 #NearEarthAsteroids #OHBItalia hashtag#ESA #ASI #DeepSpace #SpaceExploration #SpaceMissions #AerospaceEngineering #ScientificDiscovery #AngeloVallerani
