BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

NASA considers repurposing surplus probe for asteroid mission

  • Two probes known as Janus missed their original mission
  • NASA’s seeking input on sending Janus to the Apophis asteroid
  • Apophis is scheduled to pass close to Earth in 2029

The Apophis asteroid, named for the Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. (Credit: The Planetary Society; CC BY-NC 3.0)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

(NewsNation) — No, the asteroid named for the Egyptian god of chaos and destruction will not hit Earth when it passes by in 2029. But scientists say the close encounter with Apophis, also known as asteroid 99942, could present a unique data-gathering opportunity, thanks to some surplus spacecraft.

NASA is thinking about a new mission for the Janus spacecraft, two asteroid probes that missed their mission opportunity.

They were meant to be launched to examine two other asteroids, but when delays made it nearly impossible for the craft to encounter their target, they were stuck in a warehouse.

Now, NASA is asking researchers to propose new ways to use the Janus craft for a “rapid-response flyby” of Apophis when it next comes close to Earth in five years. And one big item on the official “Request for Information” is to ask interested agencies how to pay for the mission.

When it was discovered 20 years ago, Apophis was briefly placed it at Level 4 on the Torino impact hazard scale. The one-to-10 scale rates the likelihood of an asteroid impacting Earth. It was the highest level that any object has been rated.

But NASA expects new observations to have downgraded the rating to Level 0. On its X feed, in June, the European Space Agency wrote “Previously considered the most hazardous of all known asteroids, any chance that 99942 Apophis will impact Earth in the next 100 years has since been ruled out.”

Space

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Clear

la

59°F Clear Feels like 59°
Wind
5 mph NW
Humidity
65%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
55°F Clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
6 mph N
Precip
2%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous