What is Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (RAMSES)?

About Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (RAMSES):

• It is a planetary defence mission of the European Space Agency (ESA).
• It will intercept the asteroid 99942 Apophis and accompany it through its safe but exceptionally close flyby of Earth in 2029.
  • Roughly 375 m across, Apophis will pass within 32,000 km from Earth's surface on 13 April, 2029. 
  • It will be the closest approach of an asteroid of this size that humankind has ever known about in advance.
  • For a short time, Apophis will be visible to the naked eye in clear, dark skies for about 2 billion people across much of Europe, and Africa, and parts of Asia.
  • Apophis will miss Earth. Astronomers have ruled out any chance that the asteroid will collide with our planet for at least the next 100 years.
  • But the Apophis flyby in April 2029 is an extremely rare natural phenomenon.
• Researchers will study the asteroid as Earth's gravity alters its physical characteristics.
• Their findings will improve our ability to defend our planet from any similar object found to be on a collision course in the future.
• RAMSES will work in synergy with the NASA mission OSIRIS-APEX that will arrive at Apophis a few days after the closest approach of the asteroid to the Earth, allowing a comparison of the asteroid properties measured by the two missions.

Q1: What is an Asteroid?

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The current known asteroid count is at least 1,351,400. Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids orbit the sun in highly flattened, or "elliptical" circles, often rotating erratically, tumbling, and falling through space. Asteroids range in size from Vesta, the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter, to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across.

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