Terma Joins ESA Ramses Mission to Enhance Planetary Defense Capabilities

Selected to supply the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) for this groundbreaking mission, Terma will play a vital role in ESA’s latest effort to study asteroid dynamics and enhance planetary safety. The Ramses spacecraft will accompany the asteroid Apophis before, during, and after its close flyby of Earth in 2029. The aim is to enhance planetary defense and gain insights into how Earth’s gravity affects near-Earth objects.

The Ramses mission, part of ESA’s Space Safety program, will focus on observing how Apophis is warped and changed by Earth’s gravity. The Ramses Spacecraft is launching in April 2028 to give it time to reach Apophis in February 2029. By analyzing the before-and-after of Apophis’ shape, surface, orbit, rotation, and orientation, scientists will learn a lot about how an asteroid responds to external forces – which will give insight on how to best knock a hazardous asteroid off a collision course with Earth.

Terma’s Remote Terminal Unit, which was a success during ESA’s HERA mission, will manage critical in-flight systems, including communication and propulsion control. The RTUs used for the HERA mission proved reliable under the demanding conditions of space missions.

“Terma is proud to contribute to the Ramses mission by providing our proven Remote Terminal Unit technology. This partnership underscores our dedication to delivering high-quality solutions that enhance space safety and drive forward scientific progress,” says Günther Lackner, Senior Vice President at Terma Space.

Read more about Remote Terminal Units.