MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATIONPUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION
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No. 3340

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Space Operations and Astronomical Systems Department
Space Systems Division
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

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Mitsubishi Electric Begins Developing Martian Moons Exploration Probe
Unprecedented round-trip mission to search for traces of water and organisms
TOKYO, February 21, 2020 – Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has
been designated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the contractor of the Martian MoonseXploration (MMX) space probe. Mitsubishi Electric, which has already initiated development activities forthe project, will be responsible for the MMX’s system design, manufacturing and operation, leveraging
technologies that it first developed for the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) and the “Kounotori”
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The MMX’s mission is to determine the origins of Mars and its two moons,Phobos and Deimos, as well as discover how water and organic substances became part of the primordial solarsystem.

©JAXA

Rendition of MMX space probe

MMX Space Probe Features
1)

Proven technology will support world’s first round-trip mission to Martian moon

The MMX space probe will adopt existing space technologies, such as trajectory analysis and orbital
deployment, which Mitsubishi Electric originally developed for the SLIM’s high-precision landing system andthe HTV’s guidance, navigation and control systems.

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2)

New precision landing technologies for touching down on unknown terrain

To gather samples of one of the Martian moons, the descent and landing will use a built-in camera and pinpoint
landing technology developed for the SLIM. Also, multiple landing attempts in low gravity will be possibleusing a newly developed shock-absorbing mechanism and unique landing gear.
3)

Lightweight design with three-module configuration

A three-module design, consisting of a propulsion module for traveling to Mars’ vicinity, exploration module
equipped with research payload and return module for journey back to Earth, will enable the MMX to reduce
its weight for more efficient operation by disengaging the propulsion module, and later the exploration module,
once their purposes are finished. In addition, to design the MMX within the capacity of the launch vehicle(rocket), an optimum travel plan will be devised to minimize the amount of necessary propellant, which
accounts more than half of the total launch weight.
MMX Space Probe Overview
Launch Date

Scheduled during Japanese fiscal year 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025)

Flight Profile

Single Earth-Mars round trip

Probe Weight

Approx. 4,000kg
Approx. 5 years:

Mission Duration

 Arrive in orbit around Mars in Japanese fiscal year 2025
 Return to Earth in Japanese fiscal year 2029
 Establish technologies required for round trip between Earth and Mars Develop advanced techniques for sampling an astronomical object
 Establish optimal communication technologies between Earth and the MMX

Mission Objectives

probe using newly developed ground station
 Understand how water and organic substances became part of our primordial
solar system
 Discover how Mars, Phobos and Deimos were formed and evolved

About the MMX Project
There are two different hypotheses regarding the origins of the two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos. Oneis that they are asteroids captured after the formation of Mars, and the other one is that they were once part ofMars itself and separated after a large body collided with the mother planet, the so called giant-impact
hypothesis. The Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) international project will help to determine the origin of
the two Martian moons, as well as research the birth and evolution of Mars itself. Once the MMX space probearrives in orbit around Mars, it will observe the planet and its two moons, and then collect samples from oneof the moons to bring back to Earth. By identifying and analyzing any hydrated minerals, water, organic orother substances in the samples, the MMX international project will help determine how these substances

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became part of the primordial solar system. The launch date is scheduled during the Japanese fiscal year of2024 (April 2024 to March 2025) and the mission’s duration will be five years. The project is expected toproduce important new technologies for interplanetary round trips, high-precision planetary surface sampling
and advanced communication using a new deep-space exploration ground station in Nagano, Japan, thereby
contributing significantly to future space exploration.
Mitsubishi Electric’s Space Systems Business
Mitsubishi Electric has contributed to Japanese space exploration and satellite technologies by participating in
projects in which guidance, navigation and control technologies have played key roles. These include theSpace Flyer Unit (SFU) reusable experiment and observation spacecraft, the outer space satellite rendezvous
docking experiments using the Engineering Test Satellite VII’s “Chaser” and the “Target” satellites, and theHTV avionics modules. Also, in addition to the SLIM, Mitsubishi Electric is developing the HTV-X service
module as a next-generation unmanned cargo transport module that will deliver supplies to the International
Space Station. Mitsubishi Electric’s development of advanced technologies will help to establish guidance,
navigation and control systems for satellites and space probes, which are envisioned to become key Japanesetechnologies that provide foundational support for international observation projects, starting with a manned
station near the moon, a lunar surface mission and the exploration of Mars.

###About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
With nearly 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electricaland electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite
communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment.
Embracing the spirit of its corporate statement, Changes for the Better, and its environmental statement, EcoChanges, Mitsubishi Electric endeavors to be a global, leading green company, enriching society withtechnology. The company recorded a revenue of 4,519.9 billion yen (US$ 40.7 billion*) in the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2019. For more information visit:
www.MitsubishiElectric.com*At an exchange rate of 111 yen to the US dollar, the rate given by the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on
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