We are fewer than four years away from what may be the most significant near-Earth asteroid event of the 21st century. On April 13, 2029, the asteroid Apophis — named for the Egyptian god of chaos — will pass so close to Earth that it will be visible to the naked eye across much of the globe. Nearly a third of a mile wide and weighing over 27 billion kilograms, Apophis will pass just 20,000 miles from Earth — closer than our geosynchronous satellites.

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Alexander MacDonald is the former NASA Chief Economist and the author of The Long Space Age: The Economic Origins of Space Exploration from Colonial America to the Cold War.

Jim Bell is a professor and planetary scientist in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, and is the Chief Scientist of ASU’s Milo Space Science Institute. He has been involved as a science team member or camera team...

Dani Mendoza DellaGiustina is a planetary scientist and Principal Investigator of NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX mission. She develops spacecraft and instruments to investigate hazardous asteroids and the evolution of small, airless worlds.