At the initiative of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and the newly created Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) met in Busan, South Korea, to explore coordinating their planning and approach for missions to the asteroid (99942) Apophis.
Each agency representative presented the status of their current involvement in current and future planning for missions to Apophis (including extended mission for OSIRIS-REx, renamed OSIRIS-APEX, for NASA and the RAMSES mission for ESA) as well as the existing partnerships and mutual involvement in other agency’s missions, e.g., the infrared camera provided by JAXA in ESA’s mission Hera.
Concepts to fly to Apophis, as well as reuse of existing payloads, spare parts and hardware, coordination of arrival time at Apophis of the different spacecraft, techniques to be demonstrated, science to be performed, and integration of scientific databases were also discussed during the meeting.
Although all risks of impacting the Earth have been ruled out for the April 2029 encounter, the asteroid Apophis will make its closest approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, at an unprecedented distance. It will come closer to the Earth than the human-made geostationary satellites. It will even be visible to the naked eye speeding across the evening sky for an estimated 2 billion people spanning Western Europe and northern Africa.
Apophis is one of the remnants of the bricks that formed planets and contain the record of the original composition of the solar nebula in which planets in our solar system formed. This once-per-7500-year opportunity to investigate the gravitational influence of the Earth on an asteroid should not be missed. Five years is short to develop and carry out the required investigations. The agency representatives reaffirmed their strong desire to strengthen cooperation and coordination on such an important goal for humankind: both increasing our knowledge of the formation and history of the solar system and developing stronger capabilities in planetary defence.
The representatives stressed again the need for agencies to work jointly to prepare for this endeavor. This encounter offers a unique opportunity to inform the public at large about asteroids in particular and space research in general, and generate public outreach events and support material in the coming five years. COSPAR is particularly proud to have been the initiator of this historic gathering, and stands ready to continue supporting this five-year effort as required.