NASA’s plans to fly a spacecraft next to a potentially dangerous asteroid in 2029 will continue – at least for the next year.
After threats of mission cancellation, the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft received a last-minute allocation of $20 million in the House budget bill to continue basic operations for the next fiscal year. The fate of 18 other NASA missions scheduled to cease operations on October 1, however, remains uncertain due to the current government shutdown.
OSIRIS-APEX stands for “Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security — Apophis Explorer”. The mission is expected to observe the quarter-mile-wide area (400 meters) asteroid Apophiswhich was once considered a minor threat to Earth in an upcoming close encounter in 2029.
Further observations have fortunately shown that Apophis – named after an ancient Egyptian god associated with chaos – will instead fly safely by Earth. However, it will come very close: its trajectory will take it inside the orbit of geostationary satellites, at around 22,000 miles (36,000 km), which could make it visible to the naked eye. But as Apophis periodically crosses paths with our planet, there is always a risk of direct impact in the distant future.
“Apophis is one of the most fascinating near-Earth asteroids we have ever discovered,” DellaGiustina said. “By studying Apophis during and after its encounter with Earth, we have a unique opportunity to understand how close planetary flybys reshape small bodies: from earthquakes and surface landslidesto changes in rotation and orbit.
Nevertheless, in May, the Trump administration placed OSIRIS-APEX under surveillance. list of 19 NASA missions which they intended to cancel, as part of drastic cuts that would result in a considerable reduction in the agency’s budget almost 25%from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion. The fate of the other 18 missions remains uncertain; The US government has been paralyzed since October 1 after lawmakers in Washington, DC, failed to agree on this year’s budget.
Although OSIRIS-APEX operations for 2026-2027 are secure, Congress requires a review of NASA funding each year. That means the mission, along with other NASA projects, will be revisited for funding in the next fiscal year.
DellaGiustina said she hopes the funding continues. The mission was “explicitly named,” she said in the House and Senate versions of NASA’s fiscal 2026 budget, thanks to the support of Arizona’s congressional delegation, particularly Sen. Mark Kelly (D) — a former NASA astronaut — and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R), a graduate of the University of Arizona (the institution who directs OSIRIS-APEX and who also directed OSIRIS-REx).
“Congress recognized the importance of keeping our healthy spacecraft and instruments operational as we sail to Apophis,” DellaGiustina said. “This does not guarantee funding for future years, but it allows us to move forward and gives us a chance to successfully complete this unique meeting.”
Future science in danger
While the funding was a relief for the team, it’s not all good news. The science team received no funding for active research this year, meaning mission managers — and the early-career researchers they mentor, such as students — cannot do mission analysis, planning or science.
DellaGiustina said it was “discouraging to have to suspend their participation for a year or more.” In 2022, NASA’s latest Senior Mission Review – a community effort undertaken approximately every three years to assess the benefits of scientific research – explicitly stated that mentoring within the team would benefit the space community.
“This long-duration mission presented an effective professional development plan, which would allow young scientists to transition into more senior roles as the mission progresses,” the main review declaredadding that most of OSIRIS-APEX’s senior leadership – including DellaGiustina herself – rose through the ranks from previous junior positions within OSIRIS-REx.
At the same time, the two missions continue to produce scientific articles each year; their scientific productivity was praised by the senior review team, which reported in 2022 at least 137 papers produced “that reveal important discoveries and insights into the structure and evolution of a small asteroid.”
Many other papers have been published over the past three years, and more will soon be published regarding the composition and origin of Bennu, DellaGiustina said. In particular, a Nature paper in January showed that the parent body from which Bennu arose had a kind of brine running through it, which included carbonates – the building blocks of life. “The parent body may have been similar to an ocean world,” DellaGiustina said.
