https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/ramses-asteroid-space-mission
"In a bid to make sure we don’t go the same way as the dinosaurs, the European
Space Agency (ESA) has today announced its beginning work on a bold new
planetary defence mission, the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses).
This mission aims to rendezvous with the asteroid 99942 Apophis, an object
roughly the size of a cruise liner, and accompany it during its close flyby of
Earth in April 2029.
Apophis, measuring approximately 375 metres across, will pass within 32,000
kilometres of Earth’s surface on April 13, 2029. This rare event, visible to
the naked eye across parts of Europe, Africa and Asia, will draw global
attention. Such a close approach by an asteroid of this size occurs only once
every 5,000 to 10,000 years.
Astronomers have ruled out any chance of Apophis colliding with Earth in the
next 100 years (phew). However, its 2029 flyby offers scientists a unique
opportunity for scientific observation of a close-quarters flyby.
ESA’s Ramses spacecraft will arrive at Apophis two months before its closest
approach to monitor the asteroid's physical changes due to Earth's
gravitational forces.
Ramses will launch in April 2028 to ensure its arrival at Apophis by February
2029. The mission objective is to observe and study how Earth's gravity affects
Apophis, potentially causing landslides and revealing new material from beneath
the asteroid's surface."
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/abundant-harvests-lower-prices/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
