"Exploring Mission Options for Apophis: NASA Workshop Insights"
NASA is hosting a workshop to explore low-cost mission options for the Apophis asteroid, which will have a close flyby of Earth in 2029. The workshop aims to engage public and private sectors in innovative missions, despite budget constraints and a shelved smallsat mission that could potentially meet NASA's needs. One proposal involves repurposing smallsats originally intended for the Janus mission to study binary asteroids, which was canceled due to launch delays. The challenge lies in securing funding for new missions within NASA's constrained budget.