The development for the flight model for the MMX Sample Return Capsule is complete!

The Sample Return Capsule (SRC) is one of the 13 instruments onboard the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft, and is the capsule that will return the material collected from the Martian moon to the Earth’s surface. Once collected, the acquired samples in their container will be stored as a payload during the return trip from Mars. The SRC will separate from the spacecraft close to the Earth, entering the Earth’s atmosphere alone, and descending gently by parachute to make a soft landing on the ground, bringing the samples safely back to Earth.

Left: SRC FM (flight model): The SRC before it was removed from its case prior to delivery. Inside the SRC will be the samples acquired from Mars’s moon, the container where this material is stored, and the parachute that will be deployed for a safe Earth landing. Right: Group photo of the team members who were at the SRC handover, inside the MELCO Kamakura clean room. In the front is the SRC FM. Left to right are: Yagasaki Hiroshi (JAXA), Ozawa Takashi (JAXA), Ota Ryoga, Fujii Suguru, Ohya Hiroaki, Fukii Shuta (all from Kawaksaki Heavy Industries), Suzuki Toshiyuki (JAXA), Nagamine Kenta (JAXA).

The basic design for the SRC began at the development manufacturer in January 2020. After undergoing design reviews, the manufacturing of the engineering model (EM) and the subsequent development tests, the SRC pass the Post Qualification test Review (PQR) and Pre-Shipment Review (PSR) by June 2024, which confirm the completion of the Flight Model (FM) development. The SRC was then transported to the spacecraft system manufacturer (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) Kamakura Works where the instrument was officially handed over after the post-transport functionality check. The SRC will be assembled into the spacecraft’s return module and be used during the spacecraft system integration tests.

SRC Principal Investigator (PI) Suzuki Toshiyuki
Senior Researcher, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science

The SRC is the capsule for bringing the samples that were obtains from the Martian moons back to Earth. From the conceptional studies based on the Hayabusa mission SRC, MMX has been developing a capsule that is about 1.5 times larger than the Hayabusa capsule, with a diameter of 60cm. There were many challenges during the development, such as the SRC drop test from a helicopter in Taiki in July 2022, and the front heat shield ablator heating test that was conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center[*] in February 2022. But thanks to the efforts of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd, IHI Aerospace Co., Ltd, Nippi Co., Nippon Communication Equipment Co., Ltd, Advanced Engineering Services Co., Ltd., Fujikura Parachute Co., Ltd, and Antec, we have managed to complete the development. We will proceed with the system integration tests and launch site operations so that we can successfully fulfill expectations and deliver samples to Earth in 2031!

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Manufacturer for the SRC) Ohya Hiroaki
Space Systems Engineering Section, Space Systems Engineering Department, Defense & Space Systems Group, Defense & Aerospace Business Division, Aerospace Systems Company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries was primarily responsible for the assembly and testing of the entire SRC. With the support and cooperation of the manufacturers for the subcomponents such as IHI Aerospace Co., Ltd, Nippi Co., Nippon Communication Equipment Co., Ltd, Advanced Engineering Services Co., Ltd., Ltd, Fujikura Parachute Co., Ltd, and Antec, we were able to successfully complete the flight model. We believe that we will continue to be able to safely deliver valuable samples to Earth, and we would like to continue to support the project in collaboration with all the parties involved until the capsule is recovered.