Ramses, a spacecraft rendezvous project by ESA, aims to launch by April 2028 to witness asteroid Apophis's historic close passage near Earth in February 2029.
The encounter with Apophis, as wide as the Empire State Building is tall, is a rare event estimated to occur once every 7,500 years for objects of this size.
The close approach of Apophis in 2029 is expected to result in changes to the asteroid's orbit, rotation, and surface, influenced by Earth's gravity.
The detection of Apophis in 2004 raised concerns of a potential collision with Earth in 2029, leading to ongoing detailed studies of the asteroid's trajectory.
[
Collection
]
[
|
...
]