An artist’s impression of an asteroid flying near Earth
Erik Simonsen/Getty Images
In 2029, two landers from a private US company will join a fleet targeting the asteroid Apophis during its close approach to Earth.
Discovered in 2004, Apophis spans about 400 meters. Initial estimates suggested a concerning 2.7 percent chance of it striking Earth in April 2029, potentially devastating an area the size of a city. However, later calculations confirmed there’s no risk of impact for at least a century.
On April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass exceptionally close to Earth at a distance of just 32,000 kilometers, nearer than many geostationary satellites. This rare proximity will allow the asteroid to be visible to the naked eye, a spectacle that occurs only once in thousands of years for an object of this magnitude. Spacecraft from the US, Europe, Japan, and China are slated to study Apophis before, during, and after this flyby.
Among these efforts, the US firm ExLabs has announced that its mothership, ApophisExL, has successfully passed a crucial review phase, preparing for a 2028 launch. This craft will carry up to 10 different spacecraft and instruments for various customers, featuring two landers—one from an unnamed source and another from Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology.
“The goal is to gain images from the surface of the asteroid,” states Miguel Pascual, ExLabs’ chief science officer and co-founder. “There’s some really exciting science that can happen.”
No private company has yet accomplished a landing on an asteroid, although the US asteroid mining company Astroforge is planning a mission this year aiming for such a feat.
ExLabs plans to release the Chiba Institute of Technology’s lander, about the size of a shoebox, from an altitude of 400 meters above Apophis. It will descend at approximately 10 centimeters per second, softly landing on the surface after an hour while capturing images.
The landing is scheduled to occur up to a week post-flyby to avoid any unintended alteration of the asteroid’s path. Pascual mentions that any collision before the flyby would be amplified by Earth’s gravity.
Meanwhile, the European-Japanese Ramses mission (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) will also deploy a lander, according to Patrick Michel from Côte d’Azur University, the mission’s project scientist. This lander will touch down several days before the flyby to use a seismometer for detecting landslides triggered by Earth’s gravitational pull, and potentially document the landings of ExLabs’ equipment.
“Any chance to assess the surface’s texture is invaluable,” says Michel.
Michel emphasizes the need for effective communication among all involved missions to ensure smooth operations and avoid conflicts. “Coordination is vital,” he asserts. “The world will be watching. We don’t want to screw up.”
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