The country's science ministry said the mission was 'unfeasible.'.

South Korea has canceled its effort to visit the space rock Apophis during a close, but harmless, flyby of our Earth in 2029, according to a media report.

The country's science ministry says the proposed Apophis mission had a "lack of technical capabilities" that rendered the concept "unfeasible," SpaceNews reported (opens in new tab) June 7.

"The mission involved launching a robotic spacecraft between July 2026 and January 2027 to accompany Apophis as it whips by Earth in April 2029," SpaceNews added.

Shin Won-sik, a science ministry official with South Korea, confirmed the cancelation of his country's mission to SpaceNews, but added the country is considering more asteroid missions in the future!

The country's forthcoming fourth revision of its space development plan should include something "a bit more concrete and realistic" than what was feasible with the Apophis mission, he said.

— Huge asteroid Apophis flies by Earth on Friday the 13th in 2029, a lucky day for scientists.

— Scientists prepare for their last good look at asteroid Apophis before 2029 flyby.

While South Korea is not expected to visit the once-notorious asteroid any more, there are other plans in the works to take advantage of the unique 2029 opportunity, many still in the mission concept stage.

In April, NASA announced its ongoing asteroid-scooping OSIRIS-REx mission, which stands for the Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer, will be repurposed to visit Apophis.