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| Science & Technology |
| The mission to meet an Empire State Building-sized asteroid before it skims past Earth: European Space Agency's Ramses spacecraft will rendezvous with Apophis in 2029 and accompany it on its 'potentially hazardous' journey to our planet |
| 2026-03-23 |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Despite appearances, Friday 13 2029 will be an extraordinarily lucky day for humanity, as an Empire State Building-sized asteroid skims by Earth. Scientists now believe that space rock 99942 Apophis' close call with Earth could be the best opportunity to learn how to avoid a catastrophic asteroid collision. The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced funding for the Rapid Apophis Mission for Security and Safety (Ramses) which will attempt to follow the asteroid during its flyby. With Apophis rapidly approaching Earth, the ESA will need to launch its new spacecraft in just four years to make it to the asteroid in time. But, if they can pull off this daunting task, watching how the Apophis reacts to Earth's gravity could reveal the secret to deflecting deadly asteroids. Thankfully it was discovered in 2021 that Apophis would miss Earth on its 2029 and 2036 flybys, but for many, the distance might be too close for comfort. Apophis will pass by Earth at a distance of just 20,000 miles (32,000km) - equivalent to one-tenth the distance from Earth to the Moon. At that distance, Apophis will be closer than the geostationary communication satellites and will be visible to the naked eye in clear, dark skies for around two billion people across much of Europe and Africa and parts of Asia. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
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| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-03-23 23:38 |
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