Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is closely monitoring Asteroid Apophis, a near-Earth object (NEO) that will make a historic close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029. Named after the Egyptian God of Chaos, Apophis is approximately 340 to 450 meters in diameter, larger than India's largest aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
First discovered in 2004, Apophis is a stony, S-type asteroid that orbits the sun every 324 days. Its next encounter with Earth will be in 2029, followed by another in 2036. Although initial concerns suggested a potential collision, subsequent studies have confirmed that the 2029 encounter will be a flyby, with Apophis passing just 19,635 miles (31,599 km) above Earth's surface—closer than geostationary satellites.
ISRO's Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) is diligently tracking Apophis. “A large asteroid strike is a real existential threat for humanity. ISRO is very alive to that threat and our NETRA is monitoring Apophis very closely,” stated Dr. S Somanath, Chairman of ISRO.
The agency stresses on the collective approach towards such threats and states that “India will cooperate with all nations to counter this and other similar future threats”.
The near-earth approach of Apophis is a good chance for astronomers to get more information about the celestial body. ISRO wants to use this occasion to improve its knowledge of planetary defence and the actions of asteroids in the vicinity of large objects such as the Earth. The results could be important to the future generations in view of the dangers that may be caused by the future path of Apophis.
At its very worst, Apophis could cause ‘continental scale devastation’ if an asteroid of its size were to hit earth, a much larger asteroid could cause ‘mass extinction’ and ‘global disruption’. ISRO’s alertness and synergy underlines the agency’s readiness to shield the earth from possible asteroid dangers.
