Europe and Japan are building a spacecraft to study a famous asteroid. The mission, called Ramses, was switched on for the first time this week. Engineers in Milan applied power to its onboard computer and connected systems. They can now send commands to each part and check its performance. Until now, every unit had only been tested separately.
The team is racing against a very unusual deadline. Ramses must reach space by spring 2028 to meet the asteroid Apophis. This rock, roughly the size of a cruise ship, passes close to Earth in April 2029. That leaves less than three and a half years from contract to launch. A successful visit would teach scientists how to protect Earth from dangerous asteroids.