On 13 April 2029, Apophis, a 375-meter-wide asteroid, will pass just 32,000 kilometers from Earth - closer than a tenth of the distance to the Moon. This rare event offers a critical chance for scientific research and advancements in planetary defense. The asteroid's close approach will likely expose subsurface material, presenting a valuable opportunity to study its composition and structure. Understanding how Apophis reacts to tidal forces during the flyby could be key to future efforts to divert hazardous asteroids.

ESA intends to propose the Ramses mission for formal approval at the 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting as part of its Space Safety Programme. Ramses will be modeled on the Hera spacecraft, which launched on 7 October 2024, but will need to launch by early 2028 to reach Apophis in time for its flyby.

In July 2024, ESA's Member States approved the use of funds from the General Support Technology Programme and Space Safety Programme to begin the mission's Consolidation and Early Implementation phase. This will ensure that Ramses can move forward quickly if it secures full support in 2025.

On 17 October, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and OHB Italia Managing Director Roberto Aceti signed the contract at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. The funding will allow for the procurement of essential equipment and the finalization of the spacecraft's design, including considerations for potential international collaborations.

Paolo Martino, overseeing the Ramses project at ESA, remarked, "By developing and launching the Hera mission on time and under budget, we have demonstrated that ESA and its partners can meet the challenging deadlines required by asteroid missions. 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."

Related Links
Planetary Defence at ESA
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology