First CubeSat joins ESA’s Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis

• The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected the first of two CubeSats to fly onboard its proposed Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses).
• If approved, Ramses will rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis before it passes exceptionally close to Earth on 13 April 2029, exactly 1500 days from today.
• The Ramses spacecraft will deploy two smaller CubeSats at the asteroid to maximise the scientific return of this rare natural phenomenon.
• Tyvak International will lead the development of Ramses’ first CubeSat, drawing on their experience developing the Milani CubeSat for Ramses’ predecessor mission, Hera.
• The project has been awarded 4.7 million euros of the funding allocated to Ramses mission preparations in July 2024.

Building on Hera’s legacy

ESA’s first planetary defence mission, Hera, launched in October 2024 on a journey to the binary asteroid system Didymos, where it and its two CubeSat passengers, Milani and Juventas, will study the aftermath of humankind’s first attempt at asteroid deflection.

To facilitate its rapid development, ESA’s Ramses mission will leverage much of the technology developed for Hera.

The mission’s first CubeSat will be a hybrid that combines the platform and dust analyser of Milani with the low-frequency radar instrument of Juventas.

The dust analyser will examine the material that could be released from the surface of Apophis by phenomena such as landslides, while the radar instrument will enable a detailed investigation of Apophis’ internal structure.

While Apophis poses no danger, these investigations would allow us to practice techniques that humankind could use to determine the structure of a hazardous asteroid and assess how best to knock it off a collision course with Earth.

Tyvak International will draw on their experience overseeing the development of Hera’s Milani CubeSat to lead a consortium of companies from a number of ESA Member States. The project has been awarded 4.7 million euros of the funding allocated to Ramses mission preparations in July 2024.

“By utilising existing technologies, this CubeSat will bring onboard the Ramses mission trusted European industrial and research partners that have demonstrated their ability to deliver high-quality mission elements under a tight deadline,” says Fabio Nichele, CEO at Tyvak International.

“Our commitment to undertake and exceed advanced space mission challenges, and  flawlessly deliver miniaturised space system technologies, is pushing the boundaries of the European planetary defence to unrivalled excellence. We are thrilled to honour the trust of the Agency in such complex and historical journey.”

1500 days until Apophis – Ramses mission on track

Meanwhile, preparations for the main Ramses spacecraft are making good progress and demonstrating the maturity of the overall mission concept prior to the critical funding decision at ESA’s Ministerial Council in November.

“The recent discovery of asteroid 2024 YR4 has highlighted the fact that an asteroid reconnaissance mission could be required at short notice if we were to detect a significant impact hazard,” says Richard Moissl, Head of Planetary Defence at ESA.

“With Ramses, we are not only capitalising on a unique scientific opportunity, we are also demonstrating ESA’s ability to develop an asteroid mission on a strict deadline that realistically reflects the time we may have to respond to a hazard in the future.”

Ramses project manager, Paolo Martino, adds: “When Apophis passes Earth in April 2029, it will capture the attention of the entire world.”

“With Ramses, we could put Europe in a front row seat: we could be the ones delivering the close-up images of Apophis and leading global efforts to harness this truly historic opportunity for space exploration, asteroid science and planetary defence.”

“Thanks to the hard work of our industrial and institutional partners in Europe and Japan, Ramses continues to pass each milestone on its tight schedule, which would require a launch in 2028 in order to rendezvous with Apophis before it passes Earth.”

Could we land on Apophis?

Relying on proven technology for the first Ramses CubeSat has enabled the team to explore exciting new possibilities for the second. The Ramses team is currently considering whether the mission’s second CubeSat could instead be a lander that would touch down on Apophis. The lander’s surface instruments could open up a new valuable dimension to the mission’s scientific capabilities.