Japan to join European space mission to observe near-Earth asteroid

Japan plans to join a European Space Agency mission to observe an asteroid set for a close flyby of Earth in 2029, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday, with the project seen as crucial to preparing for potential future space rock collisions.Japan is likely to provide equipment and a rocket to launch the probe used in the ESA's Ramses mission. The project aims to rendezvous with Apophis, an asteroid expected to pass within around 32,000 kilometers of Earth in April 2029 -- closer than many geosynchronous satellites and the nearest approach of such a space object in observational…READ FULL ARTICLE