 Good old NASA, again, not considering the gravitational effects from the Earth in 2029, as a gigantic, extinction level asteroid Apophis comes far too close for comfort. NASA says no, it won't be altered enough by Earth's gravity, or the object's sun-perihealing to encounter our planet in 2036 or 2068, but the fact remains, they can't know this for sure, wait till you hear this. When it comes to the Doomsday asteroid Apophis, there are no straight answers as it were, and NASA are adamant that the asteroid will pass the Earth safely in 2029, safely in 2036, safely in 2068, failing to comprehensively determine the gravitational influence of the Earth and the Sun on these three occasions. This year sees the launch of the double asteroid redirect mission due for November. Is the DART mission the preparation to redirect the Apophis asteroid in one of these flybys? With new radar data of the object showing that it will hit this planet in probably 100 years, if not sooner, if gravity influences the object enough. After its initial discovery in 2004, asteroid 9442 Apophis had been identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids ever found that could impact our planet, a watershed moment, but that impact assessment changed over time as astronomers tracked Apophis and its orbit became better determined. Now the results from a new radar observation campaign combined with precise orbit analysis have helped astronomers conclude that there is no risk Apophis could impact our planet for at least another century that is. Estimated to be around 340m across, Apophis quickly gained notoriety as an asteroid that could pose a serious threat to the Earth when astronomers predicted that it come uncomfortably close in 2029. Additional observations of the near-Earth object, the risk of impact in 2029 was later ruled out, as was the potential impact risk posed by another close approach in 2036. Until this month however, a small chance of impact in 2068 still remained. Apophis made a distant flyby of the Earth around March 5th this year. Astronomers took the opportunity to use a powerful radar observation to refine the estimate of its orbit around the Sun with extreme precision. Enabling them to confidently rule out the risk of impact in 2068, but it's not completely conclusive and preparations to reflect, this asteroid are possibly still underway in the form of the dark mission to redirect Earth-directed objects, possibly the asteroid Apophis itself.