“City killer” asteroid Apophis could hit Earth in 2029, European Space Agency prepares defense mission for “God of Chaos”.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is making significant progress in its efforts to rendezvous with an asteroid that will come very close to Earth in 2029.

Known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses), the mission is in a race against time. It needs to launch in early 2028 to closely study the asteroid Apophis when it passes Earth on April 13, 2029.

The goal of this planetary defense mission is to study the composition and structure of Apophis, as well as the influence of Earth’s tidal forces on the asteroid.

A recent study suggests a small but often overlooked risk that the asteroid Apophis could collide with Earth as it approaches in 2029.

Apophis, a peanut-shaped space rock 1,230 feet (375 meters) in diameter, is comparable in size to the Eiffel Tower. Although it is not considered a “planet killer,” it is large enough to destroy a major city and cause global climate effects.

Apophis was discovered in 2004 and is considered a “potentially dangerous” object. It was named after Apep, the Egyptian serpent god of darkness and disorder, earning him the nickname “God of Chaos.” As it approaches Earth, the asteroid moves in a geostationary orbit and is visible to the naked eye.

Astronomers have indicated that Apophis will safely pass Earth at a distance of less than 20,000 miles (32,000 km), which is less than a tenth of the distance between Earth and the moon, according to NASA. However, this proximity is close enough to potentially affect some of Earth’s furthest-orbiting satellites.

Ramses isn’t the only mission that could visit Apophis. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which previously collected samples from the asteroid Bennu, is on an extended mission called OSIRIS-APEX and is expected to arrive in Apophis about a month after its flyby of Earth.

OSIRIS-REx and Ramses, as well as missions such as Hera and NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), illustrate how space agencies work together to develop capabilities to defend the planet.

Large asteroids like Apophis can be deflected by impacts from smaller asteroids, similar to NASA’s DART mission, which successfully redirected the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022 by crashing a spacecraft into it.