$20 million NASA mission to visit 'God of Chaos' asteroid saved from budget cuts in last-minute decision

This 3D rendering shows what asteroid Apophis might look like as it passes near the Earth.

NASA's plans to fly a spaceship alongside a potentially hazardous asteroid in 2029 will continue — for the next year, at least.

After threats of mission cancellation, the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft received a last-minute $20 million allocation in the House budget bill to continue basic operations for the next fiscal year. The fates of 18 other NASA missions slated to stop operations on Oct. 1, however, remain unclear due to the ongoing government shutdown.