ExLabs has announced its partnership with Japan's Chiba Institute of Technology (ChibaTech) and its Planetary Exploration Research Center (PERC) to send university-led payloads to the surface of asteroid Apophis during its rare near-Earth flyby in 2029. ApophisExL is the world's first commercial deep-space rideshare and is supported by mission design and operations collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), operated by Caltech.
Under the leadership of planetary scientist and PERC Director, Dr. Tomoko Arai, ChibaTech students and researchers are developing two landing payloads to be deployed on the asteroid's surface. This will be one of the few instances globally where students are directly contributing to flight hardware that will leave Earth orbit.
"This project challenges us to do three things never done before," said Dr. Arai. "First, we will conduct a rapid-response planetary defence/asteroid mission through industry–academia collaboration. Second, CubeSat heritage technologies are being utilised in the lander design. Third, engineering students with hands-on CubeSat development experience will develop the lander. These efforts connect education directly to exploration and continues Japan's legacy of contribution in asteroid missions."
The ApophisExL spacecraft will reach Apophis before it passes by Earth and remain near the asteroid for observations throughout the encounter on April 13, 2029. Apophis will come within 32,000 kilometres of Earth, actually passing below geostationary satellites. It is expected to be visible to the naked eye for billions of people.
ChibaTech's instrument package includes a multiband imaging camera onboard the ExLabs mothership and deployable CubeSat-shaped landers (called CubeLanders), designed to study the asteroid's surface composition and structure. The CubeLanders build on flight heritage from the Chibatech student-led CubeSats and Japan's Hayabusa missions.
"Giving students the opportunity to design and fly hardware that will land on an asteroid is transformative. It reshapes how they see engineering, science, and their role in humanity's future in space. Japan has a strong legacy in asteroid exploration, and this mission extends that legacy through international collaboration and a new commercial approach to deep space. We're proud to partner with ExLabs on a mission that places students at the centre of real deep space exploration," commented Joi Ito, President, Chiba Institute of Technology.
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