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An artist\u2019s impression of an asteroid flying near Earth<\/p>\n
Erik Simonsen\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
Two landers from a private US company will be part of an armada to asteroid Apophis when it flies past Earth in 2029.<\/p>\n
Apophis, about 400 metres across, was discovered in 2004. Initial calculations showed it had an alarmingly high chance of hitting Earth \u2013 up to 2.7 per cent \u2013 in April 2029, in which case it could destroy an area the size of a city. Later refinements showed there was no chance of impact for at least 100 years.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, on 13 April 2029, the asteroid will pass extremely close to Earth, just 32,000 kilometres away, closer than geostationary satellites and near enough that it will be visible to the naked eye, a once-in-thousands-of-years event for an asteroid of this size. Multiple spacecraft from the US, Europe, Japan and China are planning to study the asteroid before, during and after the flyby.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Among those missions, the US company ExLabs has announced that its mothership spacecraft, called ApophisExL, passed a key review phase ahead of a planned launch in 2028. It will carry up to 10 spacecraft and instruments from different customers, including two landers, one from an unnamed source, and another from Japan\u2019s Chiba Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to gain images from the surface of the asteroid,\u201d says Miguel Pascual, the chief science officer and co-founder of ExLabs. \u201cThere\u2019s some really exciting science that can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n No private company has ever landed on an asteroid, although US asteroid mining firm Astroforge plans to launch a mission this year to land on an asteroid.<\/p>\n ExLabs will deploy the Chiba Institute of Technology\u2019s lander, which is the size of a shoebox, from 400 metres above Apophis. It will then descend at about 10 centimetres a second, gently touching down on the surface after an hour, with a camera taking images.<\/p>\n The landing will take place up to a week after Apophis\u2019s flyby of Earth, to prevent any chance of accidentally changing the asteroid\u2019s trajectory. Any collision in the lead-up to the flyby would be magnified by Earth\u2019s gravity, says Pascual.<\/p>\n The European-Japanese mission to Apophis, called Ramses (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety), will also include a lander, says Patrick Michel at C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur University, the mission\u2019s project scientist. It will touch down a few days before the flyby and will use a seismometer to measure any landslides caused by Earth\u2019s gravitational tug \u2013 and could even record the touchdowns of ExLabs\u2019 landers.<\/p>\n \u201cAny opportunity to touch and feel the softness or hardness of the surface is great,\u201d says Michel.<\/p>\n However, Michel urges effective communication between all the missions to ensure they run smoothly and don\u2019t run into each other. \u201cIt is important that we coordinate,\u201d he says. \u201cThe world will be watching. We don\u2019t want to screw up.\u201d<\/p>\n Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n