After Rosetta, Dart and Hera, the Polytechnic is ready to return to deep space. In 2028 the University will take part in the European Mission Ramses to study APOPHIS closely, an asteroid of 350 meters which on April 13, 2029 will touch the Earth just 31,000 km away. The Dart (Deep-Space AstroDynamics Research and Technology) laboratory of the Department of Aerospace Sciences and Technologies has been selected by ESA to contribute to the Cubesat RCS-1 which will be developed by Tyvak International and which will fly aboard the Ramses probe. The Polytechnic team, led by professors Francesco Topputo and Fabio Ferrari, will be responsible for the design of the mission, the development of autonomous driving systems and the collection of close images of the asteroid surface. Cubesat are miniaturized satellites with small size and low cost, but able to offer a high scientific and technological return. In the Ramses mission, they will fly near Apophis, operating independently around a rapid movement body, inside the geostationary orbit. From a scientific point of view, the Cubesat will provide valuable information on the physical and dynamic properties of Apophis, thanks to images and data collected during the Flyby.
The arrival of the probe is expected by February 2029, with the aim of studying the characteristics of the asteroid and monitoring any changes induced by the terrestrial gravitational forces during the close passage.