M-Argo
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] SpacecraftA 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 demonstrationShould 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 historyAsteroid selectionBy 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 delaysDespite 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
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