ESA sets sights on Apophis asteroid with Ramses mission

In 2029, a massive asteroid called Apophis is expected to whizz close to Earth. So close, in fact, that it will come within one tenth of the distance between the Earth and Moon. Now, the European Space Agency is rushing to put together its latest mission, Ramses, which will hopefully rendezvous with the asteroid and watch the approach firsthand.

The mission is called the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety—or Ramses—and the ESA is hoping to launch it by 2028. That is, of course, a very ambitious timeline...