Mission

OSIRIS-APEX

The NASA spacecraft that returned samples from Bennu, sent on to study Apophis after the asteroid's close pass by Earth in 2029.

OSIRIS-APEX is a NASA mission to study how the asteroid Apophis changes during its close pass by Earth in April 2029.[1] The spacecraft is the former OSIRIS-REx, which collected a sample from the asteroid Bennu, and OSIRIS-APEX is its follow-on mission.[1]

From Bennu to Apophis

As OSIRIS-REx, the spacecraft launched on 8 September 2016, collected rock and dust from Bennu on 20 October 2020 and delivered the sample to Earth on 24 September 2023.[2] The capsule held 121.6 g of material, the largest asteroid sample collected in space.[3] On 23 September 2025, renamed OSIRIS-APEX, it flew within 3,438 km of Earth for a gravity assist, imaging Earth and the Moon to calibrate its instruments.[4]

At Apophis

Apophis will pass within 32,000 km of Earth's surface, closer than the highest-altitude satellites.[1] Earth's gravity is expected to alter its orbit, change how fast it spins and possibly cause quakes or landslides on its surface.[1] OSIRIS-APEX is to reach Apophis in June 2029, about a month after the flyby, and study the results.[1][5]

The spacecraft will also dip toward the stony surface of Apophis and fire its engines to stir up loose rock and dust, giving scientists a look at the material just below the surface.[1] ESA's Ramses is to arrive before the flyby, so the two missions together give a before-and-after view.[5] The sample it brought back is described on the Bennu page.

Milestones

  1. September 8, 2016
    Launches as OSIRIS-REx
  2. December 3, 2018
    Arrives at asteroid Bennu (as OSIRIS-REx)
  3. October 20, 2020
    Collects a sample from Bennu
  4. May 10, 2021
    Leaves Bennu for Earth (as OSIRIS-REx)
  5. September 24, 2023
    Delivers the Bennu sample to Earth
  6. September 23, 2025
    First Earth gravity assist
  7. March 2027 expected
    Second Earth gravity assist
  8. June 2029 expected
    Rendezvous with Apophis after its close Earth flyby

Dates marked expected are agency estimates.

All missions and what each does next

Sources

  1. [1]NASA, OSIRIS-APEX — science.nasa.gov, retrieved November 3, 2026
  2. [2]NASA, 101955 Bennu — science.nasa.gov, retrieved October 26, 2026
  3. [3]NASA, OSIRIS-REx — science.nasa.gov, retrieved October 26, 2026
  4. [4]NASA, NASA's OSIRIS-APEX Spacecraft Slingshots Past Earth — science.nasa.gov, retrieved October 26, 2026
  5. [5]European Space Agency, Ramses: ESA's mission to asteroid Apophis — esa.int, retrieved October 26, 2026

Related