Wake Up, Spacecraft! Earth’s Asteroid-Watcher Just Turned On for the First Time
Quick Summary
A new spacecraft called RAMSES just turned on its main computer for the very first time. RAMSES is being built to chase down a famous asteroid named Apophis. It will fly alongside Apophis as the space rock zooms past Earth in 2029!
What Happened?
Inside a special ultra-clean room in Milan, Italy, engineers flipped the switch on a spacecraft called RAMSES. This was the first time all of its main systems came alive and worked together as one machine.
RAMSES stands for Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety. It is a joint project from two major space agencies: ESA (the European Space Agency) and JAXA (the Japanese space agency). The two agencies signed a teamwork agreement earlier this year and have been building RAMSES together ever since.
The spacecraft is being built by a company called OHB Italia. The team is working fast. RAMSES is scheduled to launch in 2028. It needs to reach an asteroid before the asteroid flies past our planet.
That asteroid is named Apophis. It is named after an ancient Egyptian god of chaos. Apophis is about as wide as a cruise ship is long — around 340 meters. On April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass within just 32,000 kilometers of Earth. That might sound far, but it is actually closer than many of our own satellites. You will even be able to see it in the night sky without a telescope!
Appophis will not hit us. Scientists have checked the math many times, and we are safe. But this extremely close flyby is a once-in-a-thousand-years chance to study a large asteroid up close.
RAMSES will arrive at Apophis before it gets close to Earth. It will fly right alongside the space rock during the entire flyby. Earth’s gravity will squeeze and stretch Apophis as it passes by. That could cause tiny landslides on its surface. RAMSES will watch all of this happen and send back data to scientists on Earth.
JAXA will contribute the spacecraft’s solar panels, an infrared camera, and a rocket launch. The rocket is called H3. ESA will handle the spacecraft’s design, assembly, and flight operations.
Why Does It Matter?
Studying how Apophis reacts to Earth’s gravity will teach scientists a great deal about what asteroids are made of on the inside. That knowledge is like a practice run for protecting Earth. If a dangerous asteroid ever headed our way in the future, we would know much better how to deal with it.
The fact that ESA and JAXA are working together on this is also a big deal. Space exploration works best when countries share their skills and resources.
Big Words
- Asteroid — a rocky object that orbits the Sun, ranging in size from a pebble to hundreds of kilometers across
- Flyby — when a spacecraft (or in this case, an asteroid) passes close to an object without crashing into it
- Planetary defense — the effort by scientists to watch for asteroids or comets that could threaten Earth, and to prepare ways to protect our planet
- ESA — the European Space Agency, which is the space organization for many countries in Europe
- JAXA — the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Japan’s national space organization
Fun Fact
Apophis will pass so close to Earth on April 13, 2029, that people across Europe, Africa, and Asia will be able to see it moving across the night sky with just their bare eyes — no telescope needed!
Think About It
If you could design one tool for the RAMSES spacecraft to bring to study the asteroid Apophis, what would it be and what would you want to find out?
Sources
- Universe Today — ‘ESA And JAXA’s Planetary Defense Mission Powers On For The First Time’ (Sep 28, 2026)
- Heise (Germany) — ‘Planetary defense mission by ESA and JAXA makes progress’ (Sep 24, 2026)
- Starlust — ‘ESA and JAXA’s Ramses probe powers up ahead of a rare close encounter with asteroid Apophis’ (Sep 2026)
- ESA — ‘ESA awards contracts for Ramses mission to Apophis’ (Feb 10, 2026)
- JAXA — ‘JAXA and ESA sign Cooperation Agreement on the RAMSES Asteroid Apophis Mission’ (May 2026)