| Operator |  European Space Agency |
|---|---|
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer |  LSA TICRA, GomSpace, KP Labs |
| Flyby | |
The Miniaturised Asteroid Remote Geophysical Observer(M-Argo) is a planned space mission by the European Space Agency consisting of a 12U Cubesat that will fly-by an asteroid.
The M-Argo is 36.5cm wide and 22cm tall and will contain payloads to determine if there are any in-situ resources. [1] [2] [3] A Cubesat, M-Argo was largely made with cheap, standard parts that hundreds of other Cubsats use. [4] The probe was designed by a consortium led by the Luxembourg Space Agency, alongside TICRA, GomSpace, and KP Labs. [5] [6]
The M-Argo has its own propulsion system with twelve tiny gas jets to orientate and adjust its trajectory. [1] Due to the crafts small size several different designs were iterated before the development team decided upon electric propulsion. [1] The M-Argo is also outfitted with a multispectral imager and laser altimeter as its primary payloads to map the asteroid. [1] The multispectral imager was provided by the Polish firm KP Labs which also contributed AI algorithms it used on prior missions to process and compress data to save storage space. [7] The probe will communicate to earth with a specially designed X-band transponder and high-gain, flat-panel antenna. [1] [2] The M-Argo will also use an experimental Deep-Space Optical Navigation system during its transit to its destination. [8] Additional payloads include optical GNC and radio science and the solar array orientation mechanism (μSADA). [9]
Should the mission succeed, the ESA will approve a fleet of low-cost small spacecraft, perhaps 10 to 20 CubeSats at a time, to scout different asteroids on a surveying mission. [1] Roger Walker, overseeing ESA's Technology Cubesats, stated that M-Argo will "enable the cost of asteroid exploration to be reduced by an order of magnitude or more" [2]
By June of 2021,M-Argo team screened over 700,000 possible destinations, finding 150 suitable targets before settling on a shortlist of 5 to be narrowed down to 1 shortly before launch due to changing orbital dynamics. [10] [1] The five selected asteroids differ in size, spin rate, and distance from the Earth. [1] All five targets are small near-earth asteroids less than 100m in diameter. [1] No asteroids of this type have been visited yet by probes. [1]
Despite being largely constructed and ready for launch since 2021, the M-Argo has continuously run into problems securing a launch vehicle. [2] Initially, the M-Argo was supposed to launch on board a Vega-C in 2023, however, following the failure of Vega C flight VV22 the entire project, and its scheduled launches including the M-Argo where scrapped and redesigned. [11] Afterwards, the M-Argo was slated to be launched on-board an Ariane 6 in 2025, the back end of their launch window governed by the asteroid selection process. [12] However, difficulties with the Ariane flight VA262 delayed the rockets development. Currently, the M-Argo is scheduled for launch in 2026 meaning its team will have to reevaluate its candidate astroids. [13]
M-Argo will spend six months in several different orbits around its destination asteroid collecting data on a repeating two-week pattern. [14] [1] [5] The M-Argo will use ground-based navigation similar to the Rosetta to determine these orbits. [1]
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