The asteroid 99942 Apophis still spends dreams on astronomers, due to its size and planned close flight next to our planet. We can expect a historical event in exactly 10 years.
Apophis is the name that the demon of darkness and chaos wore in ancient Egypt mythology. This term perfectly suited the asteroid, which initially was supposed to hit the planet and end or change the future fate of our civilization. Meanwhile, with the acquisition of more information about it, the vision of the destruction of the Earth began to recede, but it still has not completely disappeared.
Today, the threat from her side is still high, because we still do not have enough information about the object, but it is certain that Apophis exactly on Friday 13 April 2029 will fly as close to our planet as no other object with such a large diameter. 330-meter rock will approach us at a distance of only 30,000 kilometers, which is 12 times closer to the Moon. In this space there are hundreds of telecommunications satellites.
Space agencies from various countries of the world have begun feverish preparations for meeting this mysterious and frightening cosmic rock. Undoubtedly, it will be one of the best opportunities in our lives to carry out research on this type of objects. That is why Apophis is still very popular in the world of astronomy and the space industry.
We will be able to see her flight next to the Earth with our own eyes, without using telescopes or binoculars. When the eyes of millions of inhabitants of our planet will be focused on Apophis, at this time American, Japanese, Chinese and European space missions will land on the surface of the facility. Scientists will want to explore the asteroid in all possible ways and learn more about these types of objects that threaten our planet.
The Chinese are also planning to test various technologies developed for the needs of the space mining era. Perhaps after the flight, the agencies will also try to change the trajectory of its flight, so that in the future it will cease to threaten our planet and humanity. Recall that within 3 years, NASA and ESA want to carry out such a mission on the planetoid Didymos (65803).