This innovative mission will use new flight technology, including solar electric propulsion, to send a spacecraft to asteroid 4660 Nereus and deliver a JPL-developed rover, which measures about the size of a shoebox, to the asteroid's surface. The Japanese Muses-C spacecraft will also fire explosive charges into the asteroid, collect the samples that are ejected from the impacts, and return the samples to Earth in a capsule for laboratory analysis. The mission is scheduled for launch in 2002.

"This represents an opportunity for the U.S. and Japan's space engineers and scientists to combine their expertise to achieve major science and technology goals in a cost-constrained environment," said Ross Jones, project manager for the U.S. portion of the mission called Muses-C ("N" stands for "NASA"). Overall management of the Muses-C project resides at Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science.

In addition to providing the rover, JPL will arrange for the testing of the Muses-C reentry heat shield at NASA's Ames Research Center, arrange for supplemental Deep Space Network tracking of the spacecraft, and assist in spacecraft navigation. JPL's responsibilities also include arranging for recovery of the return capsule and performance of work to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The asteroid samples will be returned to a landing site in the U.S, and American and Japanese investigators will collaborate on shared data from the rover and the spacecraft.

In 1997, the JPL Muses-CN project team completed hardware and software integration of a nano-rover prototype. Performance evaluations of the camera and spectrometer for the rover also began, as did research and analysis of navigation and sample reentry work. Preliminary plans for the heat shield design review and testing are in place at the Ames Research Center.

Muses-CN project highlights at JPL in the coming year will include the completion of the rover engineering model design, and release of the announcement of opportunity to the science community, beginning the selection process for scientists who will be investigators on the project.