By Kantaro Komiya
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan will join a European project to observe the Apophis asteroid when it passes close to the Earth by providing the H3 rocket as a launch vehicle, a Japanese space agency official said on Friday.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will join the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Ramses mission to observe Apophis, which makes a close encounter with the Earth in 2029, JAXA Vice President Masaki Fujimoto said.
NASA, U.S. space agency, had planned a separate OSIRIS-APEX
mission to rendezvous with Apophis in 2029, but the fate of the mission is uncertain because of potential U.S. budget cuts.
"Under the circumstances, JAXA must increasingly support Ramses to study Apophis through Japan-Europe collaboration, on behalf of humanity worldwide," Fujimoto told a space policy panel of Japan's science ministry.
The mission requires final ESA approval in November, but JAXA is considering a ride-share launch of its own deep space explorer DESTINY+ with Ramses in 2028 and would also offer infrared sensor and solar array paddle components for Ramses, he said.
Studying events like Apophis' passage close to the Earth is crucial for planetary defence activities against asteroid collision risks in the future, scientists have said.
Europe and Japan are deepening space collaboration amid shifting U.S. space policies, as well as cooperation between China and Russia on space projects. ESA and JAXA said in May they remain committed to the NASA-led Artemis programme after the U.S. administration proposed major changes to the moon missions.
The EU and Japan confirmed cooperation in building satellite constellations, including Europe's satellite communication infrastructure IRIS², at their leaders' summit in Tokyo last month.
Eutelsat, the French rival to Elon Musk's Starlink commercial satellite internet system, in September signed a multi-launch contract with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which has carried out H3 rocket launches since its first successful flight last year.
Japan also plans a joint lunar rover mission called LUPEX with India.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya. Editing by Jane Merriman)
