On 10 February 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a contract with OHB Italia for the development of the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses). Launching in 2028, Ramses will rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis before its rare close encounter with Earth. The mission will provide unique insight into the physical properties and behaviour of asteroids, and strengthen international collaboration and European capabilities in planetary defence.
The contract, worth €81.2 million, was signed today by ESA and OHB Italia at ESA’s ESTEC technology centre in the Netherlands and begins the spacecraft construction, assembly and testing phase of the Ramses mission. This builds upon the contract signed in October 2024 to begin preparatory work on the mission and brings the total value to approximately €150 million.
“We are proud to be entrusted by ESA with the Ramses mission,” said Roberto Aceti, CEO of OHB Italia. “This contract reflects the confidence placed in our team’s expertise and decades-long heritage in delivering complex space systems. We look forward to working with ESA and our partners to deliver this truly ambitious mission for planetary defence.”
From left to right: Giuseppe Filomeno (Ramses Project Manager at OHB Italia), Roberto Aceti (CEO at OHB Italia), Orson Sutherland (Mars & Beyond Projects Group Leader at ESA), Paolo Martino (Ramses Mission Manager at ESA).