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When M-Argo launches, it will be the smallest spacecraft to traverse interplanetary space under its own power. The\u00a0Miniaturised Asteroid Remote Geophysical Observer (M-Argo)<\/a> CubeSat will rendezvous with an asteroid, then survey it using a multispectral camera and a laser altimeter. At just 34cm wide on its longest side, the miniature spacecraft contains numerous other technologies detailed in this video, including an electric propulsion system, a high frequency \u2018X-band\u2019 communications system and a flat panel \u2018reflectarray\u2019 antenna<\/a>. This will enable the satellite to communicate with Earth even from 150 million km away.<\/p>\n M-Argo is a 12-unit CubeSat \u2013 with a 22 x 22 x 34 cm body \u2013 that would hitch a ride on the launch of a larger space mission whose trajectory takes it beyond Earth orbit, such as astronomy missions to a Sun\u2013Earth Lagrange point. The CubeSat would then use its own miniaturised electric thruster to take it into deep space and rendezvous with an asteroid, which it would survey using a multispectral camera and a laser altimeter to look for resources \u00a0such as hydrated minerals that could be extracted in future.<\/p>\n The low-cost nature of smaller spacecraft such as M-Argo paves the way for sending 10 to 20 such CubeSats to scout different asteroids, to perform a wide-scale survey of the near-Earth asteroid population \u2013 helping us get to know our neighbours better, both for science purposes and, ultimately, to identify in-situ resources for future exploitation. The mission is supported through the Fly element of the Agency\u2019s General Support Technology Programme<\/a>, with a team from GomSpace<\/a> in Luxembourg and Politecnico di Milano<\/a> in Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n