RAMSES: A European rendezvous mission to study tidal effects on the Near-Earth Asteroid Apophis during its 2029 close encounter with the Earth

Kurzfassung

The ESA RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for SpacE Safety) mission is designed to rendezvous with the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (99942) Apophis prior to its extremely close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029, at a distance of about 30000 km, below that of geostationary satellites. The mission is part of ESA's Space Safety Programme and aims to characterize Apophis before, during, and after its encounter with Earth, with the goal of assessing the asteroid's response to terrestrial tidal forces. RAMSES builds on the heritage of ESA’s Hera mission [1] and will include a main spacecraft and two CubeSats. The mission is scheduled for launch in spring 2028, with a direct trajectory enabling arrival at Apophis two months prior the closest approach. Its development is ongoing while the formal approval has to wait for the ESA Council at Ministerial Level (CMIN25) in November 2025.