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Near-Earth asteroid close approaches 2026-2029

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2026-08-13 03:45 UTC → 2026-08-19 13:00 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Aten-class asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 safely passed Earth on 27 June 2026 at about 2.56 million km, with radar and optical tracking confirming zero impact risk and refining its size to 750 m–1.6 km. The headline encounter on 13 April 2029 will bring the 340-m to 370-m stony asteroid 99942 Apophis within roughly 32,000 km of Earth—well inside the geostationary belt and visible to approximately 90 percent of the global population. NASA and ESA have formally ruled out any impact threat for at least the next century. Planetary scientist Richard Binzel has described the event as a “once-per-millennium natural experiment.” International space agencies are preparing coordinated missions to study the flyby, including NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX, ESA’s RAMSES, and JAXA’s ~~DESTINY+, which will conduct a close approach weeks before the Earth encounter. A student-led Chinese CubeSat may also participate.~~ DESTINY+. Scientists expect to observe how Earth’s gravity affects the asteroid’s rotation, trajectory, and surface, potentially triggering geological activity such as earthquakes or landslides. However, a study published in The Planetary Science Journal by researchers from the Italian National Research Council, including Giulia Schettino and Alessandro Rossi ~~from~~ of the Nello Carrara Institute of Applied ~~Physics have warned~~ Physics, warns that Apophis could collide with human-made space debris in geostationary orbit. ~~Simulations suggest such~~ Such a collision could create craters or dust clouds, making it difficult for scientists to distinguish between changes caused by Earth’s gravity and those caused by a debris impact. This risk could compromise the scientific data intended for the OSIRIS-APEX and RAMSES missions. ~~Researchers from the Italian National Research Council have reinforced these concerns regarding the risk of Apophis colliding with high-orbit space debris. While~~ NASA expert Humberto Campins notes that while the probability of a major impact during an individual's lifetime is extremely low, ~~he emphasizes that~~ humanity must invest in planetary defense technologies to ensure long-term civilizational survival.

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