Validation by Tests of the IDEFIX® Rover on the MMX Mission to Phobos

The Martian moons eXploration (MMX) mission by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, aims at the Martian Moons Phobos and Deimos. It will return samples from Phobos back to Earth and deliver a small Rover (about 25 kg) named IDEFIX® to the Phobos surface. It aims to demonstrate locomotion in a milli-gravity environment, to provide valuable insights about Phobos to the MMX spacecraft before its own landing and to perform science in situ with its 4 different instruments. It will communicate via RF with the Rolbox which remains on the spacecraft. IDEFIX® is a joint contribution by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the german aerospace center (DLR).