Britain plans to launch a spacecraft to approach asteroid Apophis

The Apex satellite will conduct a three-year study and track Apophis to collect data ahead of Apophis' approach to Earth in 2029

Space scientists and engineers in the UK have planned a mission to study an asteroid that is a potential danger to Earth. The asteroid Apophis, which is 300 meters in diameter, will approach the Earth in April 2029 to a distance close to that where the communication satellites are located.
Astrium, based in Stevenage, Hertz, wants to launch the spacecraft that will track the asteroid to better understand the details of its trajectory. The company's proposal will compete for a $50 prize from the Planetary Society, but a real mission will cost millions.
Astrium's proposal is one of 100 teams and individuals from 25 countries that have developed plans to save Earth from a deadly asteroid. They sent the Planetary Society their intention to enter the Apophis Mission Design Competition, which invited participants to compete for a $50 prize in designing a mission to meet and explore the dangerous asteroid.
The USA, Great Britain, Italy, India, Spain, Russia and Germany are the countries from which the largest number of participants came. About half of those interested in the competition are individual individuals, and the other half include teams from universities, schools, the aeronautics and space industry, and astronomy clubs. The deadline for submitting proposals is August 31, 2007.
The plan proposed by Astrium's British affiliate proposes to develop a small remote-controlled spacecraft, named Apex, that will meet the asteroid in January 2014. The spacecraft will stay for three years and monitor the asteroid's progress, as well as send data to Earth about the size of the object, its self-rotation, composition and temperature. This information will allow the construction of a trajectory model that will allow a more accurate prediction of the risk of any future collision. Astrium says that if their concept wins the prize, the company will donate the money to charity.
"The real prize for us will be if the European Space Agency or NASA think there is value in our proposal and ask us to continue the feasibility study. ” says Mike Healy, director of the company's space science division. The construction and launch of a real-scale mission is known to cost several hundreds of millions of dollars.

Asteroid Apophis caused panic when it was discovered in 2004 that it could hit Earth in 2029. Additional observations from ground telescopes testified that there is no danger that this will happen and the expectation now is that it will pass by the Earth at a relatively close distance of less than 36 thousand km. Talks of harm in its next meeting - in 2036 were removed by the astronomers who followed the course of the body in the sky. But regardless, Apophis is expected to be a good target to investigate the issue of the protection required on Earth.
When an object of this type hits the earth it can cause destruction on the level of an entire country and lead to the death of millions of people.
However, the scientists say that if enough early warning is given, it will be possible to divert the threatening object from meeting the Earth. Some scientists believe that it will be possible to divert the asteroid to a safe orbit by hitting it with low-mass objects. Others suggested flying a spacecraft near the object and using gravity to make the asteroid clear the area and not hit the planet.

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