Filippo Corradino, Tyvak International SRL
ESA Ramses mission aims at approaching the Apophis asteroid before the Earth close encounter on April 2029. It will deploy two CubeSat to maximize the scientific return of this natural phenomenon. The first Ramses CubeSat (RCS-1) will leverage technology developed for ESA’s first planetary defence mission, Hera Milani (launched in October 2024 on a journey to the Didymos asteroid) using its platform and dust analyser, to study material possibly released from Apophis surface, and adding the low-frequency radar enabling a detailed investigation of Apophis’ internal structure. RCS-1 design phase started in February 2025, in the frame of Ramses mission preparation.