Please Note Well! Some of these images, and this "countdown" here, derive from several years ago when the risks of 99942 Apophis did seem significantly higher. We leave these as "incentives and energizers" for your thoughtfulness, and not to imply that there is an imminent risk of collision from this particular asteroid.

You are invited to read about how things were at the early stage of this ASTRIC Project, going back to 2012 and actually to the early 1990s(!). Many people have been involved at different stages and in different roles and making good contributions. Edward Teller, Carl Sagan, Vitaly Ginzburg, to name a few of the "well-knowns" among us, and passed-away as these three are, their contributions were seminal and significant.

99942 Apophis will not collide with Earth in 2036, just as it will not in 2029. The risk of collision in 2068 is now deemed by many to be very low. However(!), we really cannot predict the changes in trajectory for Apophis or any other asteroid when it passes - as it will in April 2029 for instanbce, very close to Earth, much less than 1 Lunar Distance (@ 340K km), and in fact, coming to only @ 36,000 km of our Planet.

Similarly, we cannot predict changes that may occur in 2036 on a likely fly-by and not collision course with Earth.

similarly, we cannot predict - because we cannot know for certain - what trajectory changes might occur in deep space, if this or a similar asteroid comes close to some other object (planet, moon, another asteroid), or if some object in deep space collides with it.

Thus, the whole thing comes down to this: "We Must Be Prepared".

And also, ASTRIC is not only about deterring collisions by asteroids. It is very much about doing useful, productive, constructive work such as drilling, mining, and even construction, involving asteroids and other space objects within our reach.

And what, you may ask, is the span of "Our Reach"?

AS FAR AS YOU CAN MAGINE, FRIEND, AS FAR AS YOUR IMAGINATION WILL TAKE YOU.