H3-24 | DESTINY+ & RAMSES

mission

Name

DESTINY+ & RAMSES

Type

Planetary Science

Target orbit

Asteroid (Asteroid)

DESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned asteroid exploration mission to 3200 Phaethon, the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower. It will demonstrate further improvements of low cost solar electric propulsion in deep space and innovative light-weight solar array panel technology. The spacecraft will carry 3 science instruments: * DESTINY Dust Analyzer (DDA) * Telescopic Camera for Phaethon (TCAP) * Multiband Camera for Phaethon (MCAP) RAMSES (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) is a European-Japanese planetary defense mission to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). The spacecraft will arrive around Apophis in February 2029, before the asteroid’s very close fly-by to Earth on 13 April 2029. It will conduct measurements of the asteroid's properties before and during the Earth flyby to study its response to the close encounter with the planet. The spacecraft will leverage much of the technology developed for the Hera mission. At the asteroid, RAMSES will deploy two smaller CubeSats, one carrying a dust analyser, a low-frequency radar, the other will attempt to land on Apophis and provide high-resolution images from the surface.

schedule

NET (no earlier than)

Apr 20, 2028, 00:00 UTC

Window opens

Apr 20, 2028, 00:00 UTC

Window closes

Apr 20, 2028, 00:00 UTC

Last updated

May 14, 2026, 18:42 UTC

vehicle & provider

Rocket

H3-24

Family

H3

Variant

24

Provider

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Type

Commercial

Country

JPN