M-Argo

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M-Argo
Mission type Asteroid exploration & technology demonstration
Operator European Space Agency European Space Agency logo.svg
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer LSA Flag of Luxembourg.svg , TICRA, GomSpace, KP Labs
Start of mission
Launch dateNET 2027

M-Argo (Miniaturised Asteroid Remote Geophysical Observer) is a planned asteroid rendezvous mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) in the form of a 12U CubeSat. M-Argo will spend six months around its destination asteroid collecting data on a repeating two-week pattern, searching the asteroid for in-situ resources. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The spacecraft will use ground-based navigation similar to that of Rosetta to determine its trajectory. [2]

Contents

Spacecraft

A Cubesat, M-Argo was largely made with cheap, standard parts that hundreds of other CubeSats use. [7] The probe was designed by a consortium led by the Luxembourg Space Agency, alongside TICRA, GomSpace, and KP Labs. [3] [8]

M-Argo is 36.5 cm wide and 22 cm tall. It has its own propulsion system with twelve tiny gas jets to orientate and adjust its trajectory. [2] Due to the crafts small size several different designs were iterated before the development team decided upon electric propulsion. [2] M-Argo is also outfitted with a multispectral imager and laser altimeter as its primary payloads to map the asteroid. [2] 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. [9] The probe will communicate with Earth using a specially designed X-band transponder and high-gain, flat-panel antenna. [2] [4] M-Argo will also use an experimental Deep-Space Optical Navigation system during its transit to its destination. [10] Additional payloads include optical GNC and radio science and the solar array orientation mechanism (μSADA). [11]

Technology demonstration

Should the mission succeed, the ESA plans to approve a fleet of low-cost small spacecraft, perhaps 10 to 20 CubeSats at a time, to scout different asteroids on a surveying mission. [2] 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". [4]

Project history

Asteroid selection

By June 2021, M-Argo team screened over 700,000 possible destinations, finding 150 suitable targets before settling on a shortlist of five to be narrowed down to one shortly before launch due to changing orbital dynamics. [12] [2] The five selected asteroids differ in size, spin rate, and distance from the Earth. [2] All five targets are small near-earth asteroids less than 100 m in diameter. [2] No asteroids of this type have been visited yet by probes. [2]

Launch delays

Despite being largely constructed and ready for launch since 2021, M-Argo has continuously run into problems securing a launch vehicle. [4] Initially, M-Argo was supposed to launch on 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 were scrapped and redesigned. [13] Afterwards, 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. [14] However, difficulties with the Ariane 6 flight VA262 delayed the launch. As of 2025, M-Argo was scheduled for launch in 2027, requiring the reevaluation of candidate target astroids. [15]

See also

References

  1. "M-Argo". scienceoffice. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "M-Argo: Journey of a suitcase-sized asteroid explorer". European Space Agency . Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 "M-ARGO Spacecraft". nanosats.eu. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "M-Argo". European Space Agency . Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  5. "R&D Triumphs in Asteroid Exploration". European Space Agency . Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  6. Quarta, Alessandro A. (12 August 2024). "Continuous-Thrust Circular Orbit Phasing Optimization of Deep Space CubeSats". Applied Sciences. 14 (16): 7059. doi: 10.3390/app14167059 .
  7. "Getting CubeSats moving: M-Argo will be first to traverse interplanetary space under its own power". Phys.org . Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  8. "Design for first nanosat to rendezvous with asteroid begins". European Space Agency . Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  9. "KP Labs to Participate in ESA's M-Argo Mission". polanddaily24. 8 June 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  10. Franzese, V.; Topputo, F.; Ankersen, F.; Walker, R. (1 December 2021). "Deep-Space Optical Navigation for M-ARGO Mission". The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences. 68 (4): 1034–1055. Bibcode:2021JAnSc..68.1034F. doi:10.1007/s40295-021-00286-9. hdl: 11311/1188345 . ISSN   2195-0571.
  11. "M-ARGO". Italian Space Agency . Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  12. Topputo, Francesco; Wang, Yang; Giordano, Carmine; Franzese, Vittorio; Goldberg, Hannah; Perez-Lissi, Franco; Walker, Roger (15 June 2021). "Envelop of reachable asteroids by M-ARGO CubeSat". Advances in Space Research. 67 (12): 4193–4221. Bibcode:2021AdSpR..67.4193T. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2021.02.031. hdl: 11311/1163903 . ISSN   0273-1177.
  13. Parsonson, Andrew (6 December 2024). "Vega C Returns to Flight Deploying Sentinel-1C". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  14. Nedbaeva, Olga. "Europe's Ariane 6 rocket launch postponed due to 'anomaly'". Phys.org . Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  15. "ESA Technology CubeSats". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-09-09.