NASA is considering taking a pair of Janus space probes out of storage. They could be sent to the asteroid Apophis.
Visit of the century
Apophis was discovered in 2004. The preliminary calculations carried out after the discovery of the asteroid caused a sensation. They showed that there was a 2.7% chance that Apophis would collide with Earth on April 13, 2029. Its fall would release energy equivalent to 1,200 megatons of TNT.
Fortunately, subsequent observations have shown that, at least for the next hundred years, Apophis will not collide with Earth. But despite the fact that Apophis has lost the title of the most dangerous asteroid in the world, it is still of great scientific interest, and its approach to Earth in 2029 will be one of the main astronomical events of the decade. Apophis will fly at a distance of 32,000 km from the surface of our planet (i.e. inside the orbits of geostationary satellites). At that point, it will be visible in the sky to the naked eye across most of Europe and Africa, as well as parts of Asia. It is expected that the approach may affect Apophis. According to astronomers, landslides and material ejections may occur on it.
No wonder Apophis’ upcoming visit is getting so much attention. It will be observed by telescopes around the world. The asteroid will also be studied by several vehicles. ESA plans to send the Ramses mission, and NASA redirected to it the OSIRIS-APEX probe, which previously studied the asteroid Bennu.
But the fact is that OSIRIS-APEX will reach Apophis after the completion of its visit to Earth, while NASA would like to observe the very moment of approach to our planet. Therefore, the organization published a request for information on SAM.gov about how to engage a pair of Janus probes in storage for this purpose.
New work for Janus
Janus is a pair of identical probes designed to study asteroids. They were planned to be sent to space in 2022 as a passing cargo along with the Psyche spacecraft. However, because the mission’s launch date was pushed back a year, the vehicles were left idle. Calculations showed that the vehicles would not be able to reach their original targets or any other near-Earth asteroids when launched in 2023. As a result, NASA made the decision to send them to storage.
Janus may now have a second life, which is quite symbolic given the name of the mission. In its request for information, NASA is asking representatives from industry, academia and other researchers to propose new approaches to using probes to fly Apophis quickly before it rendezvous with Earth.
The main sticking point is that due to NASA’s difficult budget situation, the organization will not be able to fund such a mission on its own. Therefore, proposals to use Janus to fly to Apophis should also include information on how stakeholders are going to obtain funding.
According to Space.com
