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Private Mission to Touch Asteroid Apophis
23 Mar
Summary
- A private space company plans to land on asteroid Apophis.
- Two cube-shaped landers will explore the space rock.
- The mission aims to gather data on composition and structure.
In three years, a private space company, ExLabs, plans to make history by attempting to land exploratory craft on the asteroid Apophis as it passes extremely close to Earth. This ambitious mission, scheduled for April 2029, aims to deploy two cube-shaped landers.
These landers will descend slowly from the mothership ApophisExL, taking images and collecting vital data on Apophis's composition and surface structure. The mission is set to launch in 2028, with the landing occurring up to a week after the asteroid's closest approach.
This venture, supported by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, represents a new era of commercial deep-space exploration. ExLabs' model seeks to reduce costs and increase accessibility for scientific payloads, fostering international collaboration and opening opportunities for student-designed hardware.
Apophis, discovered in 2004 and measuring 340 meters across, will pass just 32,000 km above Earth, a distance visible to the naked eye. While no longer a collision threat, its close approach offers a rare scientific opportunity.
