The mission, known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses), would see a European spacecraft launched in 2028 to rendezvous with the 375-metre wide asteroid and accompany it as it swings past Earth. Although Apophis poses no risk of collision, its flyby will bring it closer than many satellites, a rare chance to watch an asteroid’s physical properties shift under Earth’s gravitational pull.
ESA describes the event as a “once-in-a-millennium opportunity” to gather data that could sharpen humanity’s ability to deflect or mitigate future asteroid threats. By observing how Apophis is altered by the encounter, scientists hope to refine models of asteroid behaviour and improve planetary defence planning.
Europe’s space ministers will vote on whether to fund Ramses at ESA’s Ministerial Council in November 2025. With a 2028 launch deadline to reach Apophis in time, early design and feasibility studies are already underway.
JAXA has worked closely with ESA on planetary defence before, contributing to the Hera mission, which is currently en route to the asteroid Didymos following NASA’s DART impact test. Building on that partnership, JAXA is proposing to supply Ramses with solar arrays and an infrared imager, while also offering a rideshare launch aboard Japan’s H3 rocket.
“ESA welcomes JAXA’s increasing interest in participating in the Ramses mission,” said Holger Krag, head of ESA’s Space Safety Program. “International collaboration lies at the heart of planetary defence, and we are very happy to see Europe and Japan continue to strengthen their partnership in this field.”
Ramses mission manager Paolo Martino described the cooperation as seamless, saying: “Our experience working with JAXA colleagues, first on the Hera mission and now on Ramses, has been excellent. We truly feel like one globally integrated team with a common goal.”
Apophis, officially designated 99942 Apophis, was first discovered in 2004. At the time, it briefly raised global concern after initial calculations suggested a small chance of an Earth impact in 2029 or 2036.
Improved observations later ruled out a collision, but the asteroid’s passage will still be extraordinary: on 13 April 2029, Apophis will pass just 31,000 kilometres from Earth closer than geostationary satellites and visible to the naked eye from parts of the world.
The asteroid, named after the ancient Egyptian deity of chaos, is classified as a “potentially hazardous asteroid” due to its size and orbital path. Its close flyby will give scientists a natural experiment in how a near-Earth object responds to planetary gravity, with implications for both astronomy and planetary defence.
If approved, Ramses would become one of the most ambitious asteroid missions ever attempted, turning a natural celestial encounter into a laboratory for safeguarding Earth from future threats.