- To study Apophis's physical properties and response to Earth's gravity, in preparation for potential future asteroid deflection missions.
- Timeline:
- If approved, Ramses is planned to launch in April 2028 and arrive at Apophis in February 2029, before its closest approach to Earth in April 2029.
- Approach:
- The mission will utilize technology developed for the ESA's Hera mission.
- Instrumentation:
- Ramses will carry various instruments to study Apophis, including visible cameras and CubeSats for surface studies.
- CubeSats:
- The mission will deploy two CubeSats, one of which may be a lander to conduct surface studies of Apophis.
- Decision:
- The ESA's Ministerial Council Meeting in November 2025 will decide whether to approve the mission.

APOPHIS - Discovered on June 19, 2004, is an asteroid about as wide as the Empire State Building is tall. On April 13, 2029, it will streak through space within 20,000 miles (32,200 km) of Earth, the closest any celestial object of that size has come to our planet in modern history. If it gets within 600 miles of Earth's "gravitational key-hole" it will go around the sun and hit our planet 7 years later in 2036. This site is dedicated to watching Apophis.
Thursday, June 5, 2025
The 2029 RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) mission
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
APOPHIS to be Explored by Asteroid Probe
The
asteroid probe named OSIRIS-REx, which made headlines by plucking a soil sample from
the asteroid named Bennu and sending it back to Earth in a capsule
which made a parachute
landing in Utah in September, 2023, has been rebranded as
OSIRIS-APEX - short for APophis EXplorer and was put it on course for its next
target, APOPHIS.
OSIRIS-APEX is scheduled to remain near
Apophis for 18 months - orbiting, maneuvering around it and even hovering just
over its surface, using rocket thrusters to kick up loose material to reveal
what lies beneath.
Close examination of Apophis could give
planetary defense experts valuable information about the structure and other
properties of the asteroid. The more scientists know about the composition,
density and orbital behavior the
greater the chances of devising effective asteroid-deflection strategies to
mitigate impact threats.
On April 13,
2029, Earth's gravity will likely cause measurable disturbances to the
asteroid's surface and motion, changing its orbital path and rotational spin.
Tidal forces could trigger landslides on APOPHIS and dislodge rocks and dust
particles to create a comet-like tail.
More information about the APophis EXplorer mission may be found here.
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Apophis may or may not pass through the so-called "Keyhole" in 2029.
April 13, 2029, the astroid named Apophis will come close, very close, to the Earth. And if it gets within 600 miles of the so-called "gravitational key-hole" it will hit our planet 7 years later.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Apophis - still a slight concern and it deserves watching
Although early indicators show the astroid Apophis has only almost zero chance of hitting Earth in 2029, the possibility of it going through the "keyhole" is still a slight concern and it deserves watching.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Astroid Apophis
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Apophis Update as of January 10, 2013
"With the new data provided by the Magdalena Ridge [New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology] and the Pan-STARRS [Univ. of Hawaii] optical observatories, along with very recent data provided by the Goldstone Solar System Radar, we have effectively ruled out the possibility of an Earth impact by Apophis in 2036," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL. "The impact odds as they stand now are less than one in a million, which makes us comfortable saying we can effectively rule out an Earth impact in 2036. Our interest in asteroid Apophis will essentially be for its scientific interest for the foreseeable future."