MELOS
Proposed Mars rover by JAXA
title: "MELOS" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["japanese-space-probes", "proposed-space-probes", "missions-to-mars", "mars-rovers", "japanese-inventions", "proposed-astrobiology-space-missions"] description: "Proposed Mars rover by JAXA" topic_path: "science/biology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MELOS" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Proposed Mars rover by JAXA ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox spaceflight"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | MELOS |
| names_list | Mars Explorations with Landers and Orbiters (2008) |
| Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search (2015) | |
| image | |
| image_caption | |
| image_alt | |
| image_size | |
| mission_type | Technology demonstrator |
| operator | JAXA |
| Harvard_designation | |
| COSPAR_ID | |
| website | |
| mission_duration | Nominal: 68 sols |
| Desired extension: 1 Mars year | |
| distance_travelled | |
| spacecraft | |
| spacecraft_type | |
| spacecraft_bus | |
| manufacturer | JAXA |
| launch_mass | |
| BOL_mass | |
| landing_mass | EDM (sky crane): 909 kg |
| Rover: 150 kg | |
| payload_mass | 15 kg |
| dimensions | |
| power | Solar panels (1.5 m²) |
| Battery: 720 Wh | |
| launch_date | 2024 (proposed) |
| launch_rocket | |
| launch_site | |
| launch_contractor | |
| interplanetary | |
| type | rover |
| object | Mars |
| component | |
| arrival_date | 2025 |
| location | Valles Marineris or Marte Vallis |
| distance | Goal: 50 km |
| insignia | |
| insignia_caption | |
| insignia_alt | |
| insignia_size | |
| :: |
| name = MELOS | names_list = Mars Explorations with Landers and Orbiters (2008) Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search (2015) | image = | image_caption = | image_alt = | image_size =
| mission_type = Technology demonstrator | operator = JAXA | Harvard_designation = | COSPAR_ID = | website = | mission_duration = Nominal: 68 sols Desired extension: 1 Mars year | distance_travelled =
| spacecraft = | spacecraft_type = | spacecraft_bus = | manufacturer = JAXA | launch_mass = | BOL_mass = | landing_mass = EDM (sky crane): 909 kg Rover: 150 kg | payload_mass = 15 kg | dimensions = | power = Solar panels (1.5 m²) Battery: 720 Wh
| launch_date = 2024 (proposed) | launch_rocket = | launch_site = | launch_contractor =
|interplanetary = |type = rover |object = Mars |component = |arrival_date = 2025 |location = Valles Marineris or Marte Vallis |distance = Goal: 50 km | insignia = | insignia_caption = | insignia_alt = | insignia_size =
MELOS (Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search) is a Japanese rover mission concept under study for an engineering demonstration of precision landing, and to look for possible biosignatures on Mars using a rover. JAXA has not published updates since 2015.
History
Japan's aerospace agency (JAXA) started to develop the mission concept on 2008, when MELOS stood for "Mars Explorations with Landers and Orbiters" or "Mars Exploration with Lander-Orbiter Synergy" which included several landers to be deployed simultaneously, that were to study meteorology and atmospheric gas escape. The first MELOS concept would have consisted of an orbiter and up to 4 small landers; all elements would be launched together on the same rocket. The orbiter would study the atmosphere, its and interactions with the solar wind, and image the current weather. Each of the four stationary landers would have been deployed on pre-determined landing sites and perform different measurements:
- Orbiter — Meteorology
- Lander A — Surface
- Lander B — Astrobiology —This lander would analyze soil near a methane vent. The proposed method is to use fluorochrome dye and a microscope to stain and scan for proteins and cellular membranes. The target sensitivity would be 10 cells / 1 g of soil (compared to 104 cells / 1 g in Earth desert). It would also detect other organic biosignatures or biomolecules.
- Lander C — Interior
- Lander D — Sample return
By 2015, MELOS was down-scaled to a rover mission for an engineering demonstration, and possibly an aircraft. Under the latest concept, MELOS stands for "Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search".
Rover
As of July 2015, the concept proposal includes a robotic rover whose primary objective is an engineering demonstration for long-range roving. Its secondary objective is science, specifically: meteorology, geology and astrobiology. The demonstration rover would use NASA's sky crane system for landing, and once on the surface, would deploy the MELOS rover.
Scientific objectives and payload
The scientific objectives of the mission include: ;Meteorology
- Basic meteorological observations, dust devil observation and dust entrainment. Payload: thermometer, anemometer, barometer. Optional instruments include: a spectroscope for methane detection, a dust particle sensor, electromagnetic & sonic wave measurement of dust, and short range LIDAR. ;Geology
- Geological description of the landing site including interior layered deposits and subsurface structure of regolith. Payload: ground penetrating radar (10-50m depth), multi-band stereo cameras (400-980 nm), VIS-NIR spectrometer (10ｰ20 nm). Optional: Geochronology Instrument (isochron dating method). ;Astrobiology
- Identification of biosignatures (current life from Mars or Earth). Payload: sample arm, fluorescence microscope (using pigments to visualize living cells), and an optional "daughter rover" to access samples in difficult places.
Aircraft
The mission concept also contemplates the optional deployment of a robotic airplane as a flight technology demonstrator.{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tastj/14/ists30/14_Pk_83/_pdf/-char/ja |title=A Parametric Study of Mars Airplane Concept for Science Mission on Mars |first1=Koji |last1=FUJITA|first2=Hiroki |last2=NAGAI|first3=Akira |last3=OYAMA |journal=Trans. JSASS Aerospace Tech. Japan|volume=14|number=ists30|pages=Pk_83–Pk_88|year=2016|doi=10.2322/tastj.14.Pk_83 |bibcode=2016JSAST..14.Pk83F |doi-access=free}} It would have a wing span of 1.2 m, mass of 2.1 kg and would be released at an altitude of 16,400 feet (5 km) during the entry and landing event. Its flight duration is estimated at 4 minutes, covering a distance of 25 km. Its only scientific payload would be a camera.
Proposed landing sites
The proposed landing sites will target 'wet' environments and include Valles Marineris (Melas Chasm and Juvantae Chasm), located near the confirmed recurring slope lineae, and Marte Vallis near dark slope streaks.
Since the mission aims for access to a "special region", strict planetary protection sterilization protocols must be followed to prevent forward contamination of Earth microbes to Mars.
References
References
- Satoh, Takehiko. (February 2012). "MEPAG 2012". Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
- Sasaki, Sho. (March 2009). "The 2009 MEPAG Meeting".
- ''MELOS: Japan's Mars Exploration Plan for 2020s.'' MEPAG in Lisbon, Portugal (16–17 June 2011)
- "Current plan of the MELOS, a proposed Japanese Mars mission".
- (12 July 2015). "Preliminary Thermal Design of the Japanese Mars Rover".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::