{"id":27749,"date":"2025-08-27T22:02:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=27749"},"modified":"2025-08-27T22:02:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T16:17:46","slug":"esa-and-jaxa-move-forward-on-potential-joint-mission-to-asteroid-apophis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/esa-and-jaxa-move-forward-on-potential-joint-mission-to-asteroid-apophis\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA and JAXA Move Forward on Potential Joint Mission to Asteroid Apophis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brussels\/Tokyo, August 27\u2014<\/strong> The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are advancing plans for a potential collaboration on ESA\u2019s proposed Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (RAMSES), aimed at studying the asteroid Apophis during its exceptionally close flyby of Earth in 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JAXA has formally submitted a funding request to the Government of Japan to support its participation in the mission. If approved, JAXA would contribute key components, including solar arrays, an infrared imager, and a rideshare launch aboard Japan\u2019s H3 launch vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Credit: ESA<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RAMSES is designed to rendezvous with the 375-meter-wide asteroid and monitor its physical changes as it passes near Earth\u2014a rare event that offers scientists a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to observe how gravitational forces affect a large celestial body. The data collected could significantly enhance planetary defense strategies against future asteroid threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESA\u2019s Ministerial Council, scheduled for November 2025, will determine whether the mission receives formal approval. A 2028 launch window is critical to intercept Apophis ahead of its 2029 flyby, prompting ESA to begin preliminary feasibility studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JAXA is already a key partner in ESA\u2019s Hera mission, currently en route to asteroid Didymos, and the two agencies have been exploring collaborative roles for RAMSES over recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe truly feel like one globally integrated team with a common goal,\u201d said Paolo Martino, ESA\u2019s RAMSES mission manager. \u201cOur experience with JAXA on Hera has been outstanding, and we\u2019re excited to take on the challenge of reaching Apophis together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holger Krag, Head of ESA\u2019s Space Safety Programme, echoed the sentiment: \u201cInternational collaboration lies at the heart of planetary defense. ESA welcomes JAXA\u2019s growing interest in RAMSES and looks forward to strengthening our partnership in safeguarding Earth from space hazards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If approved, RAMSES would mark another milestone in global cooperation on space safety and planetary defense, reinforcing the strategic alliance between Europe and Japan in tackling cosmic threats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are advancing plans for a potential collaboration on ESA\u2019s proposed Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (RAMSES), aimed at studying the asteroid Apophis during its exceptionally close flyby of Earth in 2029.<\/p>\n

JAXA has formally submitted a funding reques<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-space-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars.webp",1100,618,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-200x200.webp",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-675x379.webp",675,379,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-768x431.webp",750,421,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars.webp",750,421,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars.webp",1100,618,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars.webp",1100,618,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars.webp",1100,618,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-870x570.webp",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-600x618.webp",600,618,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-600x600.webp",600,600,true],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-760x490.webp",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-550x360.webp",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-95x65.webp",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-640x618.webp",640,618,true],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Asteroid_Apophis_pillars-150x84.webp",150,84,true]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics<\/a>","tag_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27751,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27749\/revisions\/27751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}