Exploration Labs (ExLabs), a startup based in Southern California, is gearing up for a 2028 mission to intercept the asteroid Apophis before it approaches Earth.

The mission aims to deploy three cubesats into Apophis’ orbit while also testing systems and software for future endeavors to redirect near-Earth asteroids for resource extraction.

ExLabs CEO Matthew Schmidgall emphasizes a collaborative approach with government and commercial partners to facilitate cost-effective missions.

The company is developing large modular spacecraft like the Space Exploration and Resource Vehicle (SERV) to host payloads and robotics, such as the Arachne Platform, for capturing and relocating space objects.

Aware of past challenges faced by space resource startups, ExLabs focuses on leveraging its core technologies to address existing and imminent space infrastructure needs, Space News reported.

The company secured a $1.7 million SpaceWERX Small Business Innovation Research contract in 2023 and recently moved into a specialized facility in Long Beach for spacecraft manufacturing.

Founded in 2023 by Schmidgall and Miguel Pascual, ExLabs has expanded its team, including industry veterans like Tom Cooley and Dalibor Djuran.

With NASA also eyeing missions to Apophis, including the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft scheduled for a rendezvous after Apophis’ 2029 flyby, the interest in low-cost asteroid missions is growing, as evidenced by NASA’s invitation to small companies for an Apophis workshop.

Written by B.C. Begley