NASA Spacecraft OSIRIS-APEX Prepares for Rare 2029 Apophis Flyby Within 20,000 Miles of Earth - cristinaiglesias.com

On 13 April 2029, the massive asteroid Apophis will sweep within 20,000 miles (approximately 32,000 kilometres) of Earth’s surface—passing closer than standard geostationary broadcast satellites in a rare celestial event that occurs only once every 7,500 years. Stationed in deep space, NASA‘s OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will capture the flyby from afar as the rocky body glides past the night side of our planet, clearly visible to millions of naked-eye observers across Europe and northern Africa.

Originally deployed under the name OSIRIS-REx, the spacecraft completed its primary objective in September 2023 when it returned a historic sample from the asteroid Bennu. Rather than retiring the craft, mission controllers repurposed the probe to rendezvous with Apophis in late spring 2029, turning a completed voyage into a secondary deep-space pursuit.