NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX Mission Will Explore Asteroid Apophis

  • Released Wednesday, September 23, 2026
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NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX mission will rendezvous with Apophis in mid-2029, following the asteroid’s historically close flyby of Earth.

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Universal Production Music: “Cellular” by Andy Hopkins [PRS] and Dean Mahoney [PRS]

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OSIRIS-APEX is a mission to study the physical changes to asteroid Apophis that will result from its rare close encounter with Earth in April 2029. That year, Apophis’ orbit will bring it within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth’s surface – closer to Earth than our highest-altitude satellites. Our planet’s gravitational pull is expected to alter the asteroid’s orbit, change how fast it spins on its axis, and possibly cause quakes or landslides that will modify its surface. The OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will observe these changes as it passes by Earth within an hour of Apophis, on track for a rendezvous with the asteroid in mid-2029.

ARTIST’S CONCEPT - Asteroid Apophis tumbles through space, eclipsing the Milky Way and its satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud.

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This page was originally published on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
This page was last updated on Friday, September 25, 2026 at 4:36 PM EDT.