A cruise liner-size asteroid will come closer to Earth than some satellites. A new mission may be racing to meet it

When a cruise liner-size asteroid comes within 19,883 miles of Earth on April 13, 2029, it won’t be alone. The European Space Agency has announced that its new Ramses spacecraft may accompany the asteroid Apophis before and after its close pass of Earth. The space rock, measuring 1,230 feet across, will come closer to our planet than satellites in its orbit and 10 times nearer than the moon. Apophis will be visible to the naked eye for around 2 billion people living across most of Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. The Ramses mission aims to study Apophis from the closest possible vantage point to increase our understanding of how space rocks interact with Earth’s gravity. Up close observations of Apophis could reveal information about its composition, mass, density, porosity, interior structure, and potential changes in its orbit.