Esa plans mission to study asteroid as it hurtles past Earth

In 2029 an asteroid larger than the Eiffel Tower will skim past Earth in an event that until recent years scientists had feared could foreshadow a catastrophic collision.

- Nicola Davis

Now researchers hope to scrutinise 99942 Apophis as it makes its close encounter in an effort to bolster our defences against other space rocks.

The European Space Agency (Esa) has announced funding for preparatory work on the Rapid Apophis Mission for Security and Safety (Ramses), in which a spacecraft will be sent to the asteroid to glean information about its size, shape, mass and the way it spins as it hurtles through space.

The mission will also shed light on the composition and internal structure of Apophis, as well as its orbit, and explore how the asteroid changes as it passes within 20,000 miles (32,000km) of Earth - about one-tenth of the distance to the moon - on Friday 13 April 2029.

"The flyby it does with Earth is absolutely unique," said Dr Holger Krag, the head of Esa's space safety programme office, adding that no asteroid is expected to come as close for a few thousand years. "If the sky is clear, you should be able to see it with your naked eye."