Huge ‘God of chaos’ asteroid to zoom past Earth ‘exceptionally close’ – and experts are sending a spacecraft to track it

A HUGE asteroid is set to make an “exceptionally close” pass of Earth in 2029 – and it would bring on an apocalypse if it were to collide.

The asteroid is called 99942 Apophis, which translates to God of chaos, and is larger than the Eiffel Tower.

ESA Science Office

Ramses needs to launch in April 2028 in order to reach Apophis in February 2029[/caption]

Astronomical Institute of the Charles University

It is expected to fly closer to Earth than the geostationary satellites used for TV broadcasting, navigation and weather forecasting.

No asteroid is expected to come as close for a few thousand years.

The exact date it’s forecast to zoom past? Friday 13 April 2029.

But before you start doomsday prepping, researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) have announced that they are sending a spacecraft to keep an eye on it.

The ESA are doubling down on efforts to secure Earth’s defences against future, potentially cataclysmic, space rocks, following the success of Nasa’s DART mission in 2022.

Scientists are keen to know how the giant space rock is influenced by Earth’s gravity during such a close flyby.

As part of the new Rapid Apophis Mission for Security and Safety (Ramses), a spacecraft will be sent to the asteroid two months before it makes its pass of Earth.

Richard Moissl, head of ESA’s Planetary Defence Office, called the mission “a cornerstone of humankind’s response to a hazardous asteroid”.

During this time, the spacecraft will gather information about Apophis’ size, shape, mass, and the way it spins on its endless journey through space.

The ESA said: “These are all very important properties for assessing how best to knock a hazardous asteroid off a collision course with Earth.”

Ramses needs to launch in April 2028 in order to reach Apophis in February 2029.

Mass extinction

When Apophis was first discovered in 2004, scientists were concerned it might collide with Earth as it orbits the Sun.

Nasa has ruled out an impact with Apophis during its approaches in 2029 and 2036.

But it was only in 2021 that experts ruled out a collision for at least the next 100 years.

Professor Monica Grady of the Open University told The Guardian that an asteroid like Apophis is likely to have brought on the end of the dinosaurs.

“[Asteroids] come near the Earth, and there’s potential that one day one of them will hit the Earth and cause a major disaster,” she said.

“We believe this happened 65m years ago, when the dinosaurs were all wiped out.

“And if it’s a big asteroid and it hits us, it’ll be a catastrophe which will destroy humanity.”

Visible to the naked eye

A whopping two billion people across Europe, Africa and some parts of Asia will be able to watch Apophis fly by.

“The flyby it does with Earth is absolutely unique,” said Dr Holger Krag, the head of the Esa’s space safety programme office.

“If the sky is clear, you should be able to see it with your naked eye.”