NASA’s spacecraft will rendezvous with rare asteroid coming close to Earth By Emilee Speck Published May 2, 2022 8:06PM Updated 8:06PM On its way back to Earth with a hefty sample of asteroid Bennu, the team behind NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has big plans for the space rock-chasing spacecraft. After the spacecraft drops off the sample next year, it will begin a new mission to study near-Earth asteroid Apophis, earning a new acronym OSIRIS-APEX. NASA recently approved $200 million to cover the extended mission, which was welcome news to the University of Arizona-led team. With a new mission, a new scientist will be in charge. […]

Image Credit: CC0 Public Domain A research study analyzes the characteristics of Apophis, the asteroid that will approach Earth in 2029 by Carlos III University of Madrid The study, in which the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Universidad Estatal Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (Júlio de Mesquita Filho Paulista State University) (UNESP) of Brazil are participating, analyzes the surface and dynamics of Apophis, an asteroid that will pass close to Earth in 2029. The Apophis asteroid was discovered in 2004 and has been monitored since then due to its classification as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA), as it […]