The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are hoping to work together on the Ramses mission, which was just revealed. The goal of the mission is to follow and investigate the asteroid Apophis, which is expected to pass near Earth in 2029.

A few weeks ago, S Somanath, the chairman of ISRO, declared that India would like to "go and meet the asteroid" when it approached Earth. He had not, however, made it clear if ISRO would work with other space agencies or be interested in launching its own mission.

Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh stated that ISRO and the ESA have already started talks to work together on the Rapid Apophis Mission for Security and Safety (Ramses) mission in response to a question in Parliament on Thursday. Just this week, ESA revealed plans for its Ramses mission to target the asteroid Apophis.

“Discussion for collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency) for Ramses for Apophis flyby monitoring is in progress. Subsequent meetings involving the respective teams of scientists are expected to firm up the specific areas where the organisations can complement each other’s strengths,” Singh declared in the Parliament.

Having committed to a space mission for Apophis, which was previously thought to be headed toward Earth collision, ESA is the second major space agency after NASA. In 2029, Apophis will pass 32,000 kilometres close to Earth, providing space agencies with a unique chance to conduct close-up research on an asteroid. According to ESA, only once in 5,000–10,000 years does an asteroid this size pass thus close to Earth.

Similar to NASA's OSIRIX-APEX probe, the Ramses spacecraft would reach the about 375-metre-wide asteroid before it approaches Earth's closest point and then follow it on its trajectory for a while.

There haven't been many space missions dedicated to studying asteroids, which are stony objects and primarily remnants of the ancient Solar System. However, things are beginning to change.

Every day, hundreds to thousands of asteroids enter Earth's atmosphere. However, due to air friction, nearly all of them burn out before they reach the surface. Unburned portions of a couple of them even reach Earth once or twice a year, though they do not leave much trace. However, it is not implausible for a massive asteroid to strike the Earth and cause extensive harm, possibly even wiping out all life. It is believed that an asteroid strike has led to the demise of the dinosaurs 6.5 million years ago.

With the goal of advancing its capabilities in a field, it hasn't yet explored- planetary defence, ISRO is preparing to analyse an asteroid for the first time.

The bigger goal of building a planetary defense program is not about just sending a mission to investigate an asteroid, but to stop asteroids or comet or any other space object—from hitting Earth as any collision may wipe out all life on Earth. These kinds of incidents have served as foundation for several science fiction books and films.

In 2022, NASA demonstrated this capability by guiding a spacecraft to collide with an asteroid and alter its course. The asteroid in context was designated Dimorphos. It posed no threat to Earth at all.

According to Minister Jitendra Singh, ISRO has already started a few projects aimed at developing planetary defence capabilities.

"ISRO, as part of IS4OM (ISRO System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management) activities, has initiated efforts for capacity building in the area of asteroid observation and planetary defence, the latter aims to protect the planet Earth against any catastrophic asteroid impact threat. Preliminary observational campaigns have been conducted to observe the asteroids using the existing astronomical telescopes within India. Ultimately, dedicated telescopes for asteroid observations, subsequent analysis to determine the asteroid’s path and characterisation of the asteroid’s composition, size, shape etc. for impact risk analysis and advance warning are envisaged as part of these efforts," he stated.

ISRO also looks forward to joining IAWN (International Asteroid Warning Network) and SMPAG (Space Mission Planning Advisory Group). These two entities function under the auspices of the United Nations for engaging in scientific research related to the impact potential of an asteroid and to coordinate a global-level effort for mitigating any impact hazard, respectively. Through the memberships, ISRO will benefit from the interactions with professionals and have access to the latest technological developments related to asteroid study and impact risk mitigation,” the minister added.

Expressing optimism Mr. Singh said, “In the future ISRO has plans to collaborate with other space agencies like NASA, ESA and JAXA (Japanese space agency) on planetary defence-related activities,”.

Agencies