On April 13th, 2029, the asteroid Apophis will make a historical close approach to Earth, a one-in-7500 years event. Three missions are racing to meet it: The European Space Agency's RAMSES mission, NASA's OSIRIS-APEX, and one built by students at the University of Maryland. TERP RAPTOR won't just go to Apophis — it is on track to arrive first before the asteroid's flyby of Earth.

This isn’t a classroom project. It's a full-scale deep space mission — designed, engineered, and operated by students — to fly past one of the most closely watched asteroids in modern history and take first-of-its-kind asteroid mass measurements. There is no comparable student-led mission. Not in scope, not in technical ambition.

Building it without institutional backing has meant doing things differently. Every design choice has been validated directly by NASA engineers or through mission design lab studies, and every milestone earned on its own merits. The mission is now at a critical step: funding is needed to acquire hardware and accelerate towards launch.

The spacecraft is designed. The launch window is set. What happens next depends on support from donors like you - willing to invest in a mission most thought our students could not accomplish.

Our initial $300,000 goal encompasses the first orders for parts that have the longest lead times such as our imager and propulsion system. To meet the strict deadline of the launch, these parts need to be ordered as soon as possible. The engineering and design process has already been completed, meaning these carefully selected parts already have a place on the final satellite.

The TERP RAPTOR team is working to ensure that every dollar received achieves its maximum potential for the success of the mission, but our long term goals go beyond that. TERP RAPTOR is the first step in establishing an ongoing satellite development program at UMD. The investments and infrastructure put in place now will serve future missions, continuing to provide opportunities for students for years to come.

If interested in corporate sponsorship, please contact us directly at terpraptor@umd.edu.

For more information and updates on our mission, please visit our TERP RAPTOR website

The TERP RAPTOR team is the proud recipient of the 2026 AIAA Best Paper Award.

Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Inc., an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization authorized by the Board of Regents.  Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.