Apophis Pathfinder: The MILO Space Science Institute’s Smallsat Mission to Investigate the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (99942) Apophis

Abstract:

The MILO Space Science Institute (http://miloinstitute.org) is a non-profit seeking to provide affordable access to deep space science missions by bringing together a consortium of global universities and space agencies to conduct the missions. One of MILO’s missions that is directly relevant to Planetary Defense is called Apophis Pathfinder. This mission would perform the first-ever close flyby of the potentially hazardous near Earth asteroid (99942) Apophis, well before its April 13, 2029 close pass by the Earth (closest distance ~31,000 km–well within the geosynchronous satellite ring). That 2029 encounter represents a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to study a potentially hazard object and possibly its internal structure because of the potential tidal effects that the Earth will have on it.

MILO's Apophis Pathfinder mission would conduct a precursor flyby investigation of the asteroid several years in advance of the 2029 Earth flyby. The mission would use a pair of small spacecraft to provide reconnaissance data designed to increase knowledge of the asteroid's orbit, provide initial geologic and compositional information, and to estimate its mass and density. This knowledge would be obtained from small and high-heritage payload elements like visible to near-IR and thermal imagers, near-IR point or imaging spectrometers, and a deep space radio communications system. Such data would provide new scientific information on asteroids like Apophis and also provide important baseline “before” data for comparison to similar kinds of “during” and “after” measurements of the asteroid by later missions focusing on the 2029 extremely close approach to Earth. The Apophis Pathfinder mission data would not only enhance advance planning for future missions to Apophis but would also provide additional data needed to formulate future Planetary Defense strategies for this object, as well as others like it.

The mission would allow for payload and spacecraft teaming opportunities, data processing and analytics, and Principal Investigator/mission-related workforce training. Apophis Pathfinder would be conducted by a consortium that joins the MILO membership-based model for deep space exploration. We are always seeking new members interested in contributing to new opportunities for cutting-edge deep space science.