24/7 Space News
IRON AND ICE
ESA begins preparations for Ramses mission to study Apophis asteroid
illustration only
ESA begins preparations for Ramses mission to study Apophis asteroid
by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Oct 18, 2024

ESA has signed a euro 63 million contract with OHB Italia SpA to initiate preparatory work for its proposed Ramses mission, which aims to study the asteroid Apophis.

On 13 April 2029, Apophis, a 375-meter-wide asteroid, will pass just 32,000 kilometers from Earth - closer than a tenth of the distance to the Moon. This rare event offers a critical chance for scientific research and advancements in planetary defense. The asteroid's close approach will likely expose subsurface material, presenting a valuable opportunity to study its composition and structure. Understanding how Apophis reacts to tidal forces during the flyby could be key to future efforts to divert hazardous asteroids.

ESA intends to propose the Ramses mission for formal approval at the 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting as part of its Space Safety Programme. Ramses will be modeled on the Hera spacecraft, which launched on 7 October 2024, but will need to launch by early 2028 to reach Apophis in time for its flyby.

In July 2024, ESA's Member States approved the use of funds from the General Support Technology Programme and Space Safety Programme to begin the mission's Consolidation and Early Implementation phase. This will ensure that Ramses can move forward quickly if it secures full support in 2025.

On 17 October, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and OHB Italia Managing Director Roberto Aceti signed the contract at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan. The funding will allow for the procurement of essential equipment and the finalization of the spacecraft's design, including considerations for potential international collaborations.

Paolo Martino, overseeing the Ramses project at ESA, remarked, "By developing and launching the Hera mission on time and under budget, we have demonstrated that ESA and its partners can meet the challenging deadlines required by asteroid missions. With Ramses we are raising the bar even further, so we need to act now to ensure that, if our Member States decide to support the mission in 2025, we can hit the ground running and reach Apophis in time."

Related Links
Planetary Defence at ESA
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
IRON AND ICE
Hera mission begins its journey toward Didymos asteroid system
Paris, France (SPX) Oct 11, 2024
The European Space Agency's Hera mission has successfully launched and is now en route to the Didymos binary asteroid system, despite initial concerns about weather conditions. With an 85% chance of delay due to poor weather, the day ended with a successful launch from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on October 7, 2024, at 16:52 CEST (14:52 UTC). After a smooth 76-minute ascent, Hera separated from its launcher, and mission control at ESA's ESOC operations center in Germany assumed ... read more

IRON AND ICE
SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts undock from ISS, begin journey home to Earth

Chinese company to sell tickets for space tourism flights in 2027

Human adaptation to spaceflight explored in latest NASA Nutrition Book

NASA's quiet space fan technology could enhance future commercial space stations

IRON AND ICE
Chinese private rocket company completes static fire test of ZQ-2E rocket

Southern Launch and Varda secure Australian approval for spacecraft re-entry at Koonibba Test Range

X-Bow Systems demonstrates calability of solid rocket motor production with Bolt Rocket

Phase Four unveils monopropellant multi-mode propulsion systems

IRON AND ICE
NASA selects crew for 45-day simulated Mars mission in Houston

Perseverance just keeps roving across Mars

Potential microbial habitats in Martian ice

New Team Evaluates Plans for NASA's Mars Sample Return Program

IRON AND ICE
China to launch 14th manned mission to Tiangong Space Station

China sets ambitious space science development goals through 2050

China successfully retrieves first reusable test satellite Shijian-19

China unveils new lunar spacesuit design ahead of moon mission

IRON AND ICE
ST Engineering iDirect selected for second phase of Indonesia's Satria-1 satellite expansion

SpaceX launches OneWeb 20 mission

Intelsat expands satellite backhaul services in Nigeria and West Africa

Eutelsat America and OneWeb to provide Enhanced Satellite Services for US Govt

IRON AND ICE
OKI to produce satellite units for Astroscale

SatixFy inks $9M software deal with MDA Space for satellite payload technology

Space agencies tracking debris from Boeing-built satellite's explosion in orbit

NASA testing deployable solar array on Pathfinder Mission

IRON AND ICE
SwRI and JPL study reveals liquid brine flows on airless worlds

It's twins mystery of famed brown dwarf solved

Astronomers Use New Technique to Search for Alien Signals Between Planets

Using AI to find the smallest and closest exoplanets around sun-like stars

IRON AND ICE
NASA and SpaceX Set for Europa Clipper Launch on October 14

NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon

Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate

NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.