"Ramses" awakens First full test of a spacecraft that will pursue a dangerous asteroid threatening Earth

 The European-Japanese Ramses mission has entered a new phase, after engineers for the first time operated the vehicle's integrated systems together at the facilities of OHB Italy in Milan, in a test that transforms it from a set of devices tested individually into a spacecraft that operates as a single unit.

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The move is of particular importance because Ramses is facing a very tight timetable: it must be ready for launch in the spring of 2028 to reach the asteroid Apophis before its exceptional close approach to Earth in April 2029.

Ingo Gerth, chief engineer of Ramses, said the units had previously undergone individual tests, but this new test allowed them, for the first time, to operate in conjunction with other equipment and send commands to it to verify its performance. The core of the vehicle includes the onboard computer, data storage unit, power distribution and climate control unit, and peripheral units that convert device outputs into digital data understandable by the computer.

The core module is being built at OHB Italia's clean facility in Milan, while the propulsion module is being prepared at Arianegroup's orbital propulsion center in Germany. The two modules are to be integrated in the spring of 2027.

Apophis has a diameter of about 375 meters and will pass on April 13, 2029 at a distance of approximately 32,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, a distance closer than the orbits of geostationary satellites .

Ramses will monitor Apophis before, during, and after its passage by Earth, looking for changes in its shape, surface, rotation, and structure due to Earth's tidal forces. These forces may cause surface slippage or distortions in the asteroid, providing information about its composition, cohesion, and internal structure.

Japan is contributing to the mission by providing lightweight solar panels and an infrared camera, as well as launching the spacecraft aboard its H-3 rocket. The European Space Agency is responsible for designing, integrating, and operating the spacecraft.