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OSIRIS-APEX is the follow-up satellite to OSIRIS-REx and will study the changes in the asteroid after its rare close encounter with Earth in April 2029.
Posted by Leslie Eastman
Apophis, named after the Egyptian god of chaos and destruction, is a near-Earth asteroid that has attracted significant attention due to its proximity to our home planet.
Apophis was discovered in 2004 and is classified as a potentially hazardous object. Because it will be close enough to the Earth in 2029, the gravitational influence will be enough to cause vibrations.
A recent study led by Ronald-Louis Ballouz of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory suggests that the asteroid 99942 Apophis may experience earthquake-like tremors due to the gravitational pull of its close flyby of Earth on April 13, 2029. , simulations suggest that the asteroid 99942 Apophis may experience earthquake-like tremors.
Apophis is about 340 meters in size and will pass within about 32,000 kilometers of Earth, closer than many orbiting satellites.
Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi during the University of Hawaii Asteroid Survey (UHAS) on June 19, 2004 Apophis was discovered, and preliminary calculations suggest it could approach Earth with a risk of collision, especially as it passes by.
With an initial estimated collision probability of 2.7 percent, Apophis achieved the highest ever rating on the Turin Scale, a method used to assess the threat posed by asteroids to Earth.
However, new calculations and observations have led scientists to conclude that there will be no impact for at least 100 years.
…Using the data available at the time, astronomers believed the flyby had the potential to alter Apophis' trajectory so that it would collide with Earth in 2068.
However, radar observations of Apophis in March 2021 by NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Center in California and the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia have greatly improved our current understanding of the asteroid. The knowledge of the orbit allowed astronomers to finally rule out any possibility of an impact on Earth.
While Apophis won't hit Earth, it will be bright enough in the sky to be visible to the naked eye. So, a watch party might be fun!
As I mentioned, NASA's observing community is currently developing its own program of close personal observations.
The OSIRIS-APEX mission is scheduled to visit the asteroid. It follows the OSIRIS-REx mission, which successfully collected and returned samples from the asteroid Bennu (which I reported on in a 2023 article).
The OSIRIS-APEX mission is to study the physical changes produced by the asteroid Apophis' rare close encounter with Earth in April 2029. Within the Earth, closer to the Earth's surface than our highest satellite. Our planet's gravity is expected to alter the asteroid's orbit, changing the speed at which it spins on its axis, and possibly causing earthquakes or landslides that alter its surface.
OSIRIS-APEX will allow scientists on Earth to observe these changes. Additionally, the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will plunge toward the surface of Apophis, a “rocky” asteroid made of a mixture of silicate (or rock) material and the metals nickel and iron, and fire up its engines to lift off Loose rocks and dust. This initiative will allow scientists to get a glimpse of the composition of the material beneath the asteroid's surface.
Other satellite projects, including those related to planetary defense, are also planned.
Under the auspicious “NEAlight” program, a team from Julius Maximilian University Würzburg (JMU) led by space engineer Hakan Kayal has revealed three such spacecraft concept. Each of the proposed satellites would aim to exploit this asteroid passage, as Earth only experiences such an event once every thousand years.
Target? Collecting data can help scientists better understand the solar system and may even help develop defenses against dangerous asteroids.
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