A depiction of the asteroid Apophis passing by our planet. A NASA project to examine the space rock in 2029 has been saved from discontinuation following a last-minute determination.(Image credit: Stephane Masclaux/Shutterstock)
NASA’s strategies to dispatch a spacecraft to journey alongside a potentially threatening asteroid in 2029 will proceed — for at least the coming year.
Following anxieties regarding the mission’s termination, the OSIRIS-APEX probe obtained a prompt $20 million allocation within the House budget legislation to sustain fundamental functions during the next fiscal period. However, the destinies of 18 other NASA expeditions marked for cessation on Oct. 1, are still uncertain owing to the continuous government closure.
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OSIRIS-APEX signifies “Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security — Apophis Explorer”. The assignment is intended to study the quarter-mile-broad (400-meter) asteroid Apophis, once considered a slight danger to our planet during an upcoming near approach in 2029.
Thankfully, further assessments have demonstrated that Apophis — whose title originates from an ancient Egyptian divinity associated with disorder — will instead securely bypass Earth. However, it will come incredibly close: its path will bring it inside the zone of geostationary satellites, approximately 22,000 miles (36,000 km) distant, conceivably rendering it noticeable to the unaided eye. Nevertheless, as Apophis crosses the planet’s orbit periodically, there remains a prospect of a direct collision far into the future.
An artist’s illustration of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft poised to land on the asteroid Bennu.
“Apophis is among the most fascinating near-Earth asteroids we’ve come across,” DellaGiustina stated. “By scrutinizing Apophis both during and after its encounter with our planet, we are presented with an exceptional chance to comprehend how planetary flybys impact compact bodies: from vibrational quaking and surface avalanches to modifications in spin and path.”
However, this past May, the Trump administration earmarked OSIRIS-APEX on a catalog of 19 NASA projects that they intended to discontinue, as a component of broad cutbacks that would result in the agency’s budget being diminished by nearly 25%, declining from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion. The prospect of the other 18 undertakings lingers in doubt; the U.S. government has been in suspension since Oct. 1 following a failure among legislators in Washington, D.C., to reach an agreement on the fiscal budget for this year.
Although OSIRIS-APEX’s functions for 2026-27 are guaranteed, Congress mandates an assessment of NASA’s funding annually. This implies that the mission, along with further NASA endeavors, will be reconsidered for funding in the upcoming fiscal cycle.
DellaGiustina conveyed her anticipation for the continued funding. She emphasized that the mission was “explicitly mentioned” in both the House and Senate forms of the fiscal 2026 NASA budget, owing to backing from the Arizona congressional group, notably Sen. Mark Kelly (D) — a former NASA astronaut — and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R), a graduate of the University of Arizona (the establishment overseeing OSIRIS-APEX and formerly OSIRIS-REx).
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“Congress acknowledged the significance of maintaining our functional spacecraft and instruments as we navigate toward Apophis,” DellaGiustina explained. “This doesn’t ensure backing in subsequent years, but it allows us to press onward and provides us with a reasonable chance to enact this singular encounter.”
Future science at risk
Although the funding brought comfort to the group, it’s not entirely positive. The scientific team was not granted any funds for ongoing investigations this year, indicating that mission directors — and the junior scientists they mentor, such as pupils — are unable to undertake analysis, devising, or mission-related science.
DellaGiustina remarked that it was “disappointing to have to delay their involvement for a year or more.” Back in 2022, the latest extensive assessment of the NASA endeavor — a communal endeavor performed nearly every three years to gauge the advantages of scientific research — openly stated that mentorship within the team would prove valuable for the space community.
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“This prolonged mission presented an effective professional expansion strategy, which would transition early-career scientists into more established capacities as the mission unfolds,” the senior assessment affirmed, adding that much of OSIRIS-APEX’s superior leadership — encompassing DellaGiustina herself — progressed through the hierarchy from preceding, less senior positions on OSIRIS-REx.
In the meantime, both missions proceed to generate scientific documents annually; their academic productivity garnered acknowledgement from the senior review panel, who flagged at a minimum of 137 articles generated in 2022 “that expose noteworthy findings and insights into the composition and development of a compact asteroid.”
Numerous additional articles have been released over the past three years, with further forthcoming pertaining to Bennu’s makeup and genesis, DellaGiustina communicated. Notably, a Nature document from January indicated that the parent frame from which Bennu originated possessed a form of brine circulating within, inclusive of carbonates — the fundamental ingredients for life. “The origin might have been similar to a world ocean,” DellaGiustina stated.
TOPICSNASA
Elizabeth HowellLive Science Contributor
Elizabeth Howell served as staff reporter at Space.com between 2022 and 2024 and a frequent contributor to Live Science and Space.com between 2012 and 2022. Elizabeth’s reporting features a range of exclusives with the White House, including numerous conversations with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches across two continents, engaging in parabolic flights, working in a spacesuit, and participating in an analogous Mars mission. Her most recent publication, “Why Am I Taller?” (ECW Press, 2022) is co-authored alongside astronaut Dave Williams.
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