OSIRIS-APEX

Mission Profile

Prime Contractors

Companies that built, launched, or operate this mission. Tickers link to their investor profile.

• LMTLockheed Martin
• University of Arizona
• KinetX Aerospace

Overview

OSIRIS-APEX is the extended-mission renaming of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft following its successful sample return from asteroid Bennu in September 2023. After the sample capsule landed in the Utah desert, the parent spacecraft remained healthy and on a trajectory that NASA could redirect — with no need for a launch — to the near-Earth asteroid Apophis. Apophis is a roughly 340-m-diameter S-type asteroid that on 13 April 2029 will pass within 32,000 km of Earth, closer than geostationary satellites — the closest predicted approach by an object this size in modern history. OSIRIS-APEX will rendezvous with Apophis shortly after that flyby and study how Earth's tidal forces affected the asteroid's spin, surface, and internal structure, providing a unique natural experiment in planetary science. The mission also plans to fire the spacecraft's thrusters at the asteroid's surface to expose subsurface material for spectroscopic analysis, mimicking the Touch-and-Go sample collection performed at Bennu. OSIRIS-APEX will spend approximately 18 months at Apophis after April 2029 arrival, providing science data that informs both planetary defense and small-body science.

Key Milestones

1. 2016-09-08

   Launch on Atlas V (originally OSIRIS-REx)

2. 2018-12-03

   Arrival at asteroid Bennu

3. 2020-10-20

   Touch-and-Go sample collection at Bennu

4. 2023-09-24

   Sample capsule lands in Utah; spacecraft retargets to Apophis

5. 2029-04-13

   Apophis Earth flyby

6. 2029-04-20

   OSIRIS-APEX rendezvous with Apophis (planned)

Related Missions

Sources

1. NASA — OSIRIS-APEX
2. University of Arizona — OSIRIS-REx