M-Argo

A Cubesat, M-Argo was largely made with cheap, standard parts that hundreds of other CubeSats use. The probe was designed by a consortium led by the Luxembourg Space Agency, alongside TICRA, GomSpace, and KP Labs. 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. The probe will communicate with Earth using a specially designed X-band transponder and high-gain, flat-panel antenna. Additional payloads include optical GNC and radio science and the solar array orientation mechanism (μSADA). == 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. == 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. The five selected asteroids differ in size, spin rate, and distance from the Earth. 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. 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. == See also ==