Sunday, April 8, 2012

Russia to Attach Satillite to NEO Asteroid Apophis; Earth's Biggest Threat

In 2029, Apophis will be at a distance of only about 36,000 miles to our planet, at the height of the orbits of geostationary satellites. Because of the gravitational effect from Earth the asteroid could change its orbit and hit Earth in 2036.
As for now the asteroid is considered by the Russian scientists as the most serious threat to Earth.
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Russia plans to send a satellite with a radio beacon to the near-Earth asteroid Apophis to find out how big a threat of collision with Earth, the country's Academy of Sciences said in its report on Saturday.
The core target of the possible mission will be to clarify the exact trajectory of Apophis for up to 2036. The satellite will be equipped with a radioisotope power source with a buffer battery.

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