A private space company will try to land on the 'potentially hazardous' asteroid Apophis when it skims past Earth in three years' time. Apophis, which measures 340 metres (1,115 feet) across, was first discovered in 2004 and is heading in our direction from 140 million miles (225 million km) away. As it flies by just 19,800 miles (32,000km) above our planet, two landers will attempt to touch down on the asteroid. When Apophis skims past Earth, its trajectory will take it so low that it will pass under geostationary satellites used to monitor the weather. Multiple spacecraft from the US, Europe, Japan and China are planning to study the asteroid before, during the after the flyby.

Source: Daily Mail March 23, 2026 15:42 UTC