NASA considers repurposing surplus probe for asteroid mission

( 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.”

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