Benevento, Italy – cosine Italia hosted the Preliminary Design Review of the HAMLET (HyperScout for Apophis Multispectral Exploration and Taxonomy) spectral imager, developed for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis.
The Ramses spacecraft, built by OHB Italia, will rendezvous with Apophis before its close flyby of Earth in 2029. By traveling alongside the asteroid during its encounter, Ramses will observe how Earth’s gravity alters Apophis’ shape, surface, and internal structure.
cosine Italia is developing HAMLET with scientific support from INAF IAPS (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Rome) and INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (Naples). Designed to capture spectral images in the visible–near-IR and short-IR ranges, HAMLET will help identify Apophis’ spectral class, constrain its surface structure, study regolith mobility, and measure space-weathering effects. These insights will be crucial in detecting any changes triggered by the asteroid’s close approach to Earth.
Ramses is scheduled to launch in April 2028, arriving at Apophis in February 2029, two months before the historic flyby. HAMLET is financed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) under ESA’s Space Safety Programme.
“The development of HAMLET in our Italian facilities represents an important opportunity for cosine Italia to further consolidate its presence within the national space ecosystem,” said Marco Esposito, Managing Director of cosine Remote Sensing S.r.l.
The review in Benevento marks a significant milestone in advancing Italy’s contribution to planetary defense and space exploration.
About cosine
cosine is a leading worldwide company in the development of space instrumentation, such as Silicon Pore Optics for astronomy and remote sensing solutions with onboard analytics for Earth Observation and planetary science. cosine combines physics and technology to bring out-of-the-box solutions to its clients. cosine has been developing and delivering innovative measurement systems for space and industrial applications since 1998. The company operates more than 1,000 m2 of cleanrooms and high-tech assembly facilities to build and test the systems we produce for customers at our headquarters in Sassenheim, The Netherlands and at subsidiaries in Berlin, Germany and Benevento, Italy.
