Stop at the “infamous” asteroid Apophy is being examined by NASA

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After collecting samples from the Benoit asteroid returning to Earth last year, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft could then make a “stop” to another “infamous” asteroid, Apophy, which once had been considered quite dangerous to fall to Earth, but later his threat was considered to be less.

The ship, which is on its way to Earth, where it is planned to arrive in 2023 along with its valuable cargo, which will be studied by scientists, has a lot of fuel and its pilots even thought to use it by assigning it a new mission. , to go for a “walk” by Apofi. The announcement was made by the lead scientist of the mission Michael Nolan of the University of Arizona, speaking at the conference of the American Geophysical Union in New Orleans, according to the “New York Times”.

Of all the known asteroids, Apophis was considered to be the greatest potential threat to our planet. After its discovery in 2004, there was an initial ominous estimate that it had a 37-chance chance of falling to Earth in 2029 (the highest chance of a collision in asteroid history). With a diameter of about 300 meters, it would not cause the end of humanity, but it would certainly bring enormous destruction and casualties in an area of ​​hundreds of kilometers, if it fell to land.

Subsequent more reassuring analyzes have shown that the asteroid is unlikely to land on Earth, although in April 2029 it is expected to pass very close, at a distance of only 36,000 kilometers, closer to the orbit of some geostationary satellites and low enough to become visible to naked eye from Europe, Asia and Africa.

New calculations by OSIRIS-Rex scientists have shown that after approaching Earth and dropping its load on the sample from Benoit, the spacecraft could then travel to Apophy after making three orbits around the planet. , when the latter will have approached Earth in 2029.

Although Apophis is no longer considered a threat to Earth – at least not for the next 100 years – his close study will provide important information about him and other asteroids of his size. So far no other space mission has been planned to approach Apofi in 2029, although various proposals have been made from time to time.

The OSIRIS-REx science team will submit to NASA next month its idea to expand the spacecraft with a new target, Apofi. The decision is expected by April 2022. If approved, the spacecraft will spend 18 months near the asteroid, after the latter arrives near Earth. As it orbits it, it will approach it too close to photograph it, while attempting to descend to its surface to drill a hole there to expose the material of Apophy’s subsoil and make compositional estimates. of.

If all this happens, then a future planetary defense mission will be better prepared – if needed eventually – to deflect Apophy or some other threatening asteroid. Basic questions that need to be answered first are how easy it would be for such an asteroid to get out of orbit or be destroyed by an explosion (if such drastic measures are deemed necessary). NASA’s first DART planetary defense mission launched last month will conduct such a first experiment targeting the small satellite Dimorph of the asteroid Gemini.

After Apophy, OSIRIS-REx may still have enough fuel to visit a third asteroid or it could be ordered to land on Apophy and remain there as a “beacon”.

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