Satis (spacecraft)
| Mission type | Planetary defense & asteroid exploration |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 12U CubeSat |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2030 (planned) |
Satis, also known as Asteroid Inspector,[1] is a proposed planetary defense deep-space CubeSat mission under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) the Space Safety Programme (S2P). If approved, Satis will launch in 2030 to study an asteroid.[2] Satis will be a 12-unit CubeSat based on a similar European mission M-ARGO.[3][4][5][6] As of February 2026, Satis was not mentioned in materials about future missions planned by S2P.[7]
Satis was also proposed as a mission to study the properties of the near-Earth asteroid Apophis before, during, and after its closest approach to Earth in April 2029. That would require launch in April 2028.[8][9]
See also
- List of European Space Agency programmes and missions
- Ramses
- Other European deep-space CubeSat missions:
- HENON — launch in 2026, a space weather mission, ESA's first ever stand-alone deep space CubeSat
- M-Argo — launch in 2027, a mission to an asteroid
- LUMIO — launch in 2027, a mission to characterize the impacts of near-Earth meteoroids on the lunar far side
- VMMO — launch in 2028, a mission to map the distribution of water ice and ilmenite on the Moon
References
- ^ "Space Safety Programme at 2025 Ministerial Council". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ^ "ESA Space Safety Fleet". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ^ Kulu, Erik. "Satis". Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ Satis: a fast-response ESA Planetary defence mission
- ^ "Planetary Defence Projects and Core Activities - CM22". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ "Redwire Leading ESA Planetary Defense Mission Study". Redwire Space. 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ "ESA Space Safety Fleet". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
- ^ Fogliano, Valerio; Walker, Roger; Simonetti, Simone; Da Silva Pais Cabral, Francisco; Ambrosio, Giuseppe; Karatekin, Ozgur; Ritter, Birgit; Güttler, Carsten; Soons, Koen (2025). "SATIS: A mission study for a deep-space CubeSat to observe (99942) Apophis, a near-Earth potential hazardous asteroid, before, during, and after the Earth fly-by". In Petrozzi-Ilstad, Max (ed.). Small Satellites Systems and Services Symposium (4S 2024). Vol. 13546. p. 60. Bibcode:2025SPIE13546E..1OF. doi:10.1117/12.3061583. ISBN 978-1-5106-8894-0.
- ^ Moissl, R. (2024). "ESA Mission Options to Asteroid Apophis During the 2029 Close Approach with Earth: Programmatic and Strategic Perspective". Apophis T-5 Workshop. 3006: 2033. Bibcode:2024LPICo3006.2033M. ISSN 0161-5297.