00:00Friday the 13th of April 2029 will be humankind's lucky day.
00:06Apophis, a 375-metre-wide asteroid, will safely pass Earth at a distance of less than 32,000 kilometres.
00:14An asteroid this large passes this close to Earth once every roughly 7,000 years,
00:21and the European Space Agency will have a front-row seat.
00:30Meet Ramses.
00:33ESA's Space Safety Program is sending Ramses to rendezvous with Apophis
00:38and study the asteroid up close as it is pulled and stretched by Earth's gravity.
00:45Ramses will deploy two smaller spacecraft to help it record any changes to the asteroid's orbit,
00:51rotation, surface and interior.
00:55With Ramses, ESA is capitalizing on a unique opportunity to learn how asteroids react to strong forces
01:02and how we could push one off of a collision course if we are not so lucky next time.
01:10When the world looks up to see Apophis passing overhead,
01:14Ramses will be flying alongside, providing close-up images and learning how to keep Earth safe.
01:29Capophis
01:30Abertura
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