An asteroid that will pass closer to the Earth than most satellites will provide scientists an opportunity to study how to defend the Earth from impacts, according to a report.

The asteroid, 99942 Apophis, will pass close to the Earth in 2029, and the European Space Agency plans to send a spacecraft to study the object, according to the Guardian.

The close flight will provide an opportunity for scientists to study ways to prevent an asteroid collision, should one threaten to occur.

“They come near the Earth, and there’s potential that one day one of them will hit the Earth and cause a major disaster. We believe this happened 65m years ago, when the dinosaurs were all wiped out. And if it’s a big asteroid and it hits us, it’ll be a catastrophe which will destroy humanity,” Monica Grady of the Open University told the newspaper.

The deployment of a spacecraft within four years is a tight time frame in which to launch a space mission, according to the report.

“There’s nothing we can do about it in terms of changing that date — and that’s what would happen in a situation where an asteroid was coming to hit the Earth,” Terik Daly of Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory said. “We can’t negotiate with the asteroid. What we can do is prepare to respond in an effective way.”

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The asteroid is expected to pass close to the Earth (at least one-tenth of the distance from the Earth to the moon) and will arrive on April 13, 2029 — a Friday.

“Apophis” is the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian god Apep, a serpent of shadow that the sun god, Ra, destroys every morning, according to Egyptian mythology.