Asteroid Apophis to Safely Pass Within Satellite Orbit in 2029

Asteroid Apophis to Safely Pass Earth in 2029

Initially discovered in 2004, Apophis was named after the ancient Egyptian figure associated with evil, destruction, and disorder, and was once considered one of the most hazardous asteroids with the potential to impact Earth. Early calculations suggested a one-in-37 chance of impact in 2029, with subsequent concerns raised for 2036 and 2068. However, precise radar and optical tracking have ruled out any impact risk. According to Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer and researcher at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years. Both NASA and the European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre have removed Apophis from their risk lists.

Satellite Proximity and Naked-Eye Visibility

The 2029 flyby will bring Apophis closer than geostationary satellites, which circle Earth at an altitude of about 35,786 kilometres (or roughly 22,236 miles). The closest approach is expected around 21:45 UTC (or 21:45 GMT) on April 13, 2029. While the asteroid passes closer than geostationary weather and communications spacecraft, it will remain far outside low Earth orbit and will not travel along the equatorial ring.

Visibility maps presented at the Apophis T-3 Years workshop in Padua in June 2026 and published through Spacedaily indicate that as many as 7.6 billion people—close to 90 per cent of the world’s population—live in regions where the asteroid could potentially be visible to the unaided eye during its seven-hour passage between roughly 15:00 and 22:00 UTC. Weather permitting, people in parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, including Australia, much of Asia, Africa, Europe, and parts of eastern South America, may see Apophis looking like a moving star crossing the sky without telescopes or binoculars. Because of proximity, an effect called parallax will cause observers in different countries to see it against different background stars.

International Space Missions and Scientific Research

The safe interplanetary encounter serves as what Massachusetts Institute of Technology planetary scientist Richard Binzel called a once-per-millennium natural experiment, offering researchers an unprecedented opportunity to examine a near-Earth object up close. Major space agencies are preparing multiple monitoring missions.

JAXA’s spacecraft DESTINY+, originally planned to launch in 2025 for the active asteroid Phaethon, had its launch pushed to no earlier than April 2028 and will ride on the larger H3 flagship rocket to visit inbound Apophis. DESTINY+ is scheduled to make first contact weeks ahead of the close encounter at a relative speed of 1.5 kilometres per second.

The European Space Agency is organizing the Ramses mission, led by project manager scientificamerican.com. Ramses is a near-replica of ESA’s Hera spacecraft and will carry narrow- and wide-angle cameras, a high-resolution imager, hyperspectral and thermal infrared cameras, a plasma spectrometer, a laser altimeter, and a pair of shoebox-sized CubeSats named Don Quijote and Farinella. Built in Spain, Don Quijote will land on Apophis ahead of closest approach to monitor tidal forces from Earth’s gravitational field. NASA has also reoriented the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft to study Apophis after its closest approach alongside ground-based telescopes. Scientists want to understand how Earth’s gravity stretches, squeezes, or alters the rotation, interior, and peanut-shaped surface of the asteroid, potentially triggering small landslides and delivering vital information for planetary defense mechanisms.