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NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX asteroid probe captured this image of Earth during a close flyby on Sept. 23, 2025. | Credit: NASA\/Goddard\/University of Arizona\/Lockheed Martin<\/p>\n
NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft captured stunning new images of Earth recently as it whipped past the planet during a high-speed slingshot maneuver, sending the probe on a fast track toward the famous asteroid Apophis.<\/p>\n
The photos showcase Earth<\/a> in striking detail during a flyby on Sept. 23 when OSIRIS-APEX<\/a> \u2014 short for “Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Apophis Explorer” \u2014 flew just 2,136 miles (3,438 kilometers) above the planet during its closest approach.<\/p>\n The spacecraft captured swirling clouds over Earth’s blue oceans and glimpses of continents passing below. The following day, as it departed Earth, OSIRIS-APEX snapped a dramatic shot of the moon<\/a> opposite Earth from roughly 370,000 miles (595,000 kilometers), according to a statement<\/a> from NASA.<\/p>\n Credit: NASA\/Goddard\/University of Arizona\/Lockheed Martin<\/p>\n OSIRIS-APEX is the second phase of OSIRIS-REx<\/a>, the mission that returned a sample from the near-asteroid (NEA) Bennu<\/a> in 2023. After that historic journey, NASA charted a new course toward Apophis<\/a>, a stony metal-rich NEA that offers a sharp scientific contrast to Bennu’s carbon-rich composition (and was once thought to pose a serious impact risk to Earth). The recent images from OSIRIS-APEX mark an early milestone, confirming that its cameras and instruments are fully operational after years in deep space, and that the spacecraft is on course for its interplanetary journey.<\/p>\n The September flyby was designed to use Earth’s gravity to boost OSIRIS-APEX’s speed and redirect it toward Apophis, which will swing past Earth on April 13, 2029. That encounter will bring the asteroid<\/a> closer than many satellites \u2014 close enough for Earth’s tidal forces to potentially reshape the asteroid’s surface, alter its spin or even shift its orbit. OSIRIS-APEX is scheduled to arrive shortly thereafter, making it the first mission to document how an asteroid responds to a close planetary pass, according to the University of Arizona’s mission overview<\/a> page.<\/p>\n Once in orbit around Apophis, the spacecraft will spend roughly 18 months mapping the asteroid, studying its composition and capturing high-resolution imagery. Mission planners also hope to hover a few meters above the surface and fire the probe’s thrusters downward to stir up dust and reveal fresh previously hidden material.<\/p>\n This view of Earth was collected about nine hours after OSIRIS-APEX\u2019s closest approach to Earth on Sept. 23, 2025, when it was about 142,000 miles (228,000 km) away from Earth and getting farther. | Credit: NASA\/Goddard\/University of Arizona<\/p>\n The newly released Earth images were captured using the spacecraft’s MapCam imager, which features red, green and blue filters, as well as StowCam, which is capable of both still and video imagery to verify safe storage of collected asteroid samples<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/72e64e426f01de2d5bc708d54e4477c4.jpeg\"\/)
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