Latest news with #Ramses
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Europe wants to land a tiny spacecraft on the infamous asteroid Apophis in 2029
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Once feared as a threat to Earth, the asteroid Apophis is now considered to pose a rare exploration opportunity — if space agencies can act in time. The 1,100-foot-wide (340 meters) Apophis, also known as asteroid 99942, is set to make a very close, but safe, flyby of Earth on April 13, 2029. The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing its Ramses (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety) mission for a 2028 launch in order to accompany the rocky body during its close approach. Ramses aims to conduct a before-and-after-flyby analysis of the asteroid and features such as its surface characteristics, composition, orbit and more. Apophis' gravitational interaction with Earth is expected to trigger tidal forces in the asteroid, potentially altering its surface and interior. Understanding how Apophis is affected will bring valuable insights for international planetary defense efforts. And now, ESA plans to add a second cubesat to the mission, to attempt a landing on Apophis. It has selected the Spanish company Emxys to lead the development of what is a demanding task. "Landing on an asteroid is very challenging," Paolo Martino, Ramses project manager, said in an ESA statement. "The irregular shape and surface properties make it difficult to identify a stable landing site, while the very weak gravity makes it hard to stay on the surface without bouncing off and drifting away." The main Ramses spacecraft will be a modified version of ESA's Hera probe, which is on its way to the binary asteroid system Didymos to assess the effects of NASA's 2022 DART (Double Asteroid Redirect Test) impact. Ramses' status is not secure, however, despite apparent momentum behind the mission, as it requires ESA member states to officially commit to financially backing the mission at the agency's Ministerial Council meeting in November this year. Another agency looking at launching a dedicated mission to track and study Apophis is NASA. Scientists at the Apophis T-4 Years Workshop held in Tokyo in April urged NASA to repurpose the shelved Janus spacecraft to make a pre-Earth-encounter investigation of Apophis. The agency, however, currently lacks the budget to carry out such a mission, according to reports. A May 19 SpaceNews story reported that Nicky Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, said that the agency is looking into possibilities for using Janus for an Apophis mission, but stated that these depend on budgets for fiscal year 2026 and beyond. The context for this is not favorable, however. The Trump administration's 2026 budget request, issued earlier this month, calls for very deep cuts to the NASA budget, hitting science particularly hard. A study into collaborating with non-traditional partners for the mission, meanwhile, was found to be not viable, also due to funding issues, SpaceNews reported. Related stories: — Apophis: The infamous asteroid we thought might hit us — Collisions could increase chance of 'God of Destruction' asteroid Apophis hitting Earth — Shelved NASA spacecraft could spy on asteroid Apophis before 2029 Earth flyby NASA will have at least one spacecraft visiting Apophis, however. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which collected samples from the asteroid Bennu and delivered them to Earth, is on an extended mission — named OSIRIS-APEX — and will arrive at Apophis roughly one month after the asteroid's Earth flyby. Another visit will be made to Apophis due to a delay to the launch of a Japanese mission. DESTINY+ was scheduled to launch this year to study the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, the parent of the Geminid meteor shower. However, issues with the development of Japan's Epsilon S rocket have seen a change of plans, pushing back launch to 2028, but also affording the opportunity to make a flyby of Apophis on its way. Scientists are calling for thorough Aphophis investigations beyond a mere flyby. "We recognize that the entire world will be watching how we collectively respond to the knowledge opportunity for planetary defense presented by the safe but very close Earth passage by the asteroid Apophis in April 2029," an Apophis T-4 workshop summary communique stated. It backed OSIRIS-APEX, DESTINY+ and Ramses, calling these the highest-priority missions for Apophis, which should be "fully funded and supported to ensure successful achievement of their science objectives." "We find that international collaborations and coordination are imperative for achieving Apophis 2029 science," the communique read, adding that time is of the essence for moving forward and funding missions.
Egypt Today
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
Tens of Thousands Flock to 'Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs' Exhibition in Tokyo
Tens of thousands flock to 'Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs' exhibition in Tokyo. Since its grand debut on March 7, the blockbuster exhibition has captivated Tokyo, drawing massive crowds. With over 40,000 tickets sold and counting, it's clear that the legacy of Ramses is shining brighter than ever.
Egypt Today
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
For the First Time, Amir Ramses Joins Jury of Tetouan Festival
Director Amir Ramses is to take part in the feature film jury; (narrative and documentary), at the 30th Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival in northern Morocco, scheduled to take place from April 26th to May 3rd. Multiple quality films are to be screened in the festival. Ramses mentioned that it's his first participation, as a jury member, in Tetouan Festival, which includes several prominent figures, such as the jury head, Italian director, screenwriter, and actor Daniele Luchetti. Luchetti's films received prestigious awards in many international festivals. The jury also includes Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmaa El-Moudir who won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Portuguese producer Isabel Machado who supervised multiple festivals and supported young talents. Furthermore, the jury includes French journalist, director and critic for "Positif" magazine, Nguyen Truong Bing, who is interested in film documentation issues. With all these figures, Ramses considers it a special mission in a major festival in Morocco. In the upcoming edition, 10 feature films compete for the "Tamuda"; the festival's top award, Mohamed Rekab Jury Award, Ezz El-Din Medour Award for the First Work, as well as Best Actor and Actress Awards. The festival celebrates three decades of dedication to promoting Mediterranean cinema and enriching cinema in Morocco. The festival was founded in 1985 at the initiative of the Friends of Cinema Association in Tetouan. Since that time, it has sought to enrich its portfolio and networks in multiple Mediterranean countries in order to become a major platform and a vital artistic event for fostering dialogue between generations and cross-pollination of cinematic experiences. It also aims at promoting values of openness, modernity and civilization and raising the name of Tetouan city high in the fields of art and cinema at the national level and at the Mediterranean Basin level.
Al-Ahram Weekly
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egyptian filmmaker Amir Ramses joins jury of Moroccan TMFF - Screens - Arts & Culture
Egyptian filmmaker Amir Ramses joins the jury board of the long-feature fiction and documentary films competition at the 30th edition of Morocco's Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival (TMFF), also known as Festival de Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tétouan, taking place from 26 April to 3 May. The jury, chaired by renowned Italian director Daniele Luchetti, includes Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir, Portuguese director Isabel Machado, and French scriptwriter and film critic Nguyen Trong Bin. They will select the winner from 10 films in the fiction and documentary competition, awarding the Tamuda Award, the festival's top honor named after the ancient Berber city near modern-day Tetouan. The jury will also present the Mohamed Rekab Jury Award, the Azeddine Medour Award for Best First Film, and awards for Best Actress and Best Actor. TMFF highlights Mediterranean cinema by showcasing a range of films from Europe and the Arab world, in addition to seminars, panels, talks, and discussions by industry pioneers. Amir Ramses Ramses is among the best-known directors of his generation. Born in 1979 and a graduate of the Higher Institute of Cinema, he has a large score of achievements as a film director. He began his filmmaking career alongside Youssef Chahine, working as an assistant director before striking out on his own. In addition to directing, Ramses has written scripts for several of his films, including Jews of Egypt, a two-part documentary he directed and co-wrote with Mostafa Youssef in 2013 and 2014. He also wrote and directed Cairo Time, which earned Sherif Ramzy a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema. Ramses' Curfew, which he wrote and directed, garnered numerous accolades at the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) in 2020, including Best Director, Best Film, and Best Actress (Elham Shahin). The film also won the Audience Award at the Malmo Film Festival in 2021 and swept most major awards at the 2021 Egyptian Catholic Centre Film Festival. The film won 12 awards, dominating the Cairo Film Society's major honors for films released in 2020. Ramses served as artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival from its inception in 2017 until he resigned before the closing ceremony of its fifth edition in 2021. He was later appointed director of the CIFF for its 44th edition in 2022. However, he resigned shortly after the festival's 45th edition was postponed to 2024 due to escalating tensions in the region following the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in October 2023. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Telegraph
14-03-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
European Space Agency spacecraft to steer asteroids away from Earth
Hollywood films would have you believe that the best way to deal with an Earth-threatening asteroid is to blast it out of orbit. But the European Space Agency (ESA) is looking at a far subtler approach to saving the planet – a gravity tractor. The plan involves sending a spacecraft to rendezvous with a dangerous asteroid and use its tiny gravitational field to slightly alter the space rock's trajectory so that, over time, it would soar harmlessly past Earth. It is an idea that has been floated for decades, but recently become more pressing after the 2024 YR4 scare earlier this year, an asteroid that came seemingly out of nowhere and at one point had a one in 32 chance of hitting Earth in December 2032. Joseph Aschbacher, director general of ESA, admitted he had been ''very worried' about 2024 YR4 and said the space agency was stepping up its planetary defence capabilities. Speaking to The Telegraph at Space-Comm expo this week, Dr Aschbacher said: 'I was very worried. 'If the asteroid is in front of your door, more or less, it's too late, and we probably cannot do much. 'The earlier you detect an asteroid that might impact planet Earth, and the earlier you can take action far away from planet Earth, the higher the chances are that it will not have negative impacts. '(A planetary defence mission) may actually start, by just sending a satellite there, and letting it fly close by the asteroid so that the gravity of the satellite influences the gravity of the asteroid itself. 'Slightly by degrees, it would change the trajectory, and therefore may result in a different trajectory than the ones that might be directed to Earth. So the further away you can do it, the bigger the chances of minimising damage.' Apophis rock no longer a risk Last year, ESA announced that it planned to rendezvous with the asteroid 99942 Apophis, a cruise ship-sized rock, which makes an exceptionally close flyby of Earth in April 2029, when it will be visible to the naked eye. The mission, called Ramses (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety), will give a crucial window into how asteroids are affected by gravitational forces – in this case, the gravity of Earth. Apophis was predicted to get dangerously close to Earth in 2068, but experts have since revised their calculations and no longer see it as a risk. 'We have a mission planned already to encounter that asteroid before it comes to Earth, and to really measure it,' added Dr Aschbacher. 'We are not assuming it will hit planet Earth, but it will fly by very closely, and that will be quite a spectacle, in terms of every citizen being able to see it, but it is a unique opportunity to really study the asteroid close by.' Most asteroids and comets have orbits that do not bring them very close to Earth, and they are only classed as dangerous if they come within 4.6 million miles and are larger than 460 feet. But occasionally they can hit. The last major impacts include the Tunguska event in 1908 in Siberia which felled an estimated 80 million trees, while the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor is the only known incident in modern times which resulted in numerous injuries. Only one asteroid deflection test has ever taken place in space. In 2022, Nasa sent its Dart (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft to crash into Dimorphos, a 525ft-wide 'moonlet' which circles a larger asteroid called Didymos. The team had hoped the impact would shorten Didymos' 11 hour 11 minute orbit by a few minutes, but it ended up shaving off around half an hour. However, the impact had unexpected consequences, unleashing a storm of boulders 'as deadly as Hiroshima' and proving that deflection strategies could have unintended consequences that leave smaller rocks on a collision course with Earth. In contrast, a gravity tractor would cause less collateral damage, gently nudging an Earth-bound asteroid in a new trajectory. Last year, ESA launched a spacecraft, named Hera, which is travelling to Didymos-Dimorphos to assess the true scale of the damage in a mission which will help determine which asteroid defence scheme will be chosen in the event of another scare. It is due to arrive in October next year. Dr Paul Bate, the chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: 'Asteroids are one of the ways in which you show the power in space, so we are right to be worried. 'Whether we like it or not, these things have been happening literally since the start of the solar system. We're connected. 'We don't have any choice, but we know we can actively choose to understand more and that's very important for deflection, for protecting our planet.'
