NASA has recently launched a mission to intercept a near-Earth asteroid Apophis, or God of Chaos”.
- For this mission, the US space agency deployed OSIRIS-APEX, after the spacecraft’s return from deep space.
- The asteroid Apophis, will brush past Earth’s orbit, only 20,000 miles away from the surface in 2029.
Apophis
- Named after an ancient Egyptian deity, Apophis is a 1,000-foot-wide asteroid.
- Apophis is made of silicate materials and nickel-iron, making it considerably different from the carbon-rich asteroid Bennu, which OSRIS-APEX visited under its prior moniker in October 2020 to collect a sample that it dropped off at Earth in September 2023 before continuing on its mission.
- It was first discovered in 2004 and is expected to fly by Earth on April 13, 2029.
- During that time, OSIRIS will intercept the asteroid to study any changes made by its earthly encounter.
OSIRIS-REx to OSIRIS-APEX
- After a seven-year mission in deep space to collect samples from the Bennu asteroid in September, OSIRIS is being redeployed for another mission.
- The spacecraft is being renamed from OSIRIS-REx to OSIRIS-APEX, an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Apophis Explorer.
