Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has a strategic small-body sample return program to understand the formation, evolution, and migration of planetary building blocks, water, and organics in the early solar system. The JAXA's sample return program started with Hayabusa for S-type asteroid Itokawa in 2010, followed by Hayabusa-2 for C-type asteroid Ryugu in 2020, and the future mission of Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) for Phobos in 2031 (Fig. 1). My presentation covers the recent achievements of Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REx curation at ISAS/JAXA and the recently launched Ryugu Reference Project. I also present an overview of MMX, particularly how we leverage the Hayabusa 2/OSIRIS-REx experience to develop the MMX curation. The Hayabusa 2 curation is unique in that it acts as a "bridge" between the remote sensing and sample analysis communities. Along with the conventional curation tools (e.g., optical microscope and balance), JAXA installed remote sensing instruments (e.g., ONC: Optical Navigation Camera) in the curation facility for ground truthing. Moreover, a flight spare of MicrOmega (infrared hyperspectral microscope) detected important minor phases (clays, carbonates, organics) in the apparently black Ryugu samples in the early stage of the curation.Such a unique Hayabusa 2 curation policy expands the activities of OSIRIS-REx curation for JAXA's Bennu fractions (0.66 g) transferred from JSC/NASA on August 21, 2024. Since we received the Bennu fractions, we have completed the basic characterization of bulk fractions; the basic characterization is continued for selective individual grains. The basic characterization includes optical microscopy and further hyperspectral infrared measurements using MicrOmega and an FT-IR attached to the OSRIS-REx clean chamber.Extending JAXA's curation activity incubates a new project (RRP: Ryugu Reference Project) to maximize the potential merit of the returned sample. The RRP aims to set an international standard for the elemental and isotopic abundances in the solar system using samples from the asteroid Ryugu. This project involves forming a Measurement Definition Team (RRP-MDT) to outline scientific goals and analysis methods. The RRP-MDT will document them in a white paper to ensure that the findings are accessible and beneficial for future research. Based on the MDT's white paper, JAXA will evaluate the significance and scientific merit of proceeding with RRP. JAXA plans a Phobos sample return mission, MMX, in 2026-2031. The MMX spacecraft is scheduled to be launched in 2026, orbit Phobos and Deimos (multiple flybys), and retrieve and return >10 g of Phobos regolith to Earth in 2031. The Phobos regolith represents a mixture of endogenous Phobos building blocks and exogenous materials that contain solar system projectiles (e.g., interplanetary dust particles and coarser materials) and ejecta from Mars and Deimos. The MMX Sample Analysis Working (SAWT) team outlined the curation and sample analysis protocol to identify Phobos' fragments with different origins. Following the MMX-SAWT report, JAXA curation is designing the MMX curation facility and instrumentation for the system requirement review in 2026.Figure 1: Sample return missions by JAXA (Hayabusa, Hayabusa 2, and MMX) and by international partners (OSIRIS-REx).

The In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Program was tasked in 2009 to start development of propulsion technologies that would enable future sample return missions. Sample return missions could be quite varied, from collecting and bringing back samples of comets or asteroids, to soil, rocks, or atmosphere from planets or moons. The paper will describe the ISPT Program s propulsion technology development activities relevant to future sample return missions. The sample return propulsion technology development areas for ISPT are: 1) Sample Return Propulsion (SRP), 2) Planetary Ascent Vehicles (PAV), 3) Entry Vehicle Technologies (EVT), and 4) Systems/mission analysis and tools that focuses on sample return propulsion. The Sample Return Propulsion area is subdivided into: a) Electric propulsion for sample return and low cost Discovery-class missions, b) Propulsion systems for Earth Return Vehicles (ERV) including transfer stages to the destination, and c) Low TRL advanced propulsion technologies. The SRP effort will continue work on HIVHAC thruster development in FY2011 and then transitions into developing a HIVHAC system under future Electric Propulsion for sample return (ERV and transfer stages) and low-cost missions. Previous work on the lightweight propellant-tanks will continue under advanced propulsion technologies for sample return with direct applicability to a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission and with general applicability to all future planetary spacecraft. A major eff

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper presents a global overview of current, planned and proposed sample missions. At present, missions are in progress to return samples from asteroids, comets and the interstellar medium. More missions are planned to Mars and the asteroids. Future sample return missions include more targets including Europa, Mercury and Venus. This review identifies the need for developing a coordinated international system for the handling and safety certification of returned samples. Such a system will provide added assurance to the public that all the participants in this new exploration arena have thought through the technical challenges and reached agreement on how to proceed.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">All these future returned sample missions hold relevance to the NASA Astrobiology program because of the potential to shed light on the origins of life, or even to return samples of biological interest. The possibility that samples returned from other bodies to the Earth may contain biotic material or living organisms raises many considerations for preventing forward contamination of the samples and back contamination of the Earth and its biosphere. Multiple space-faring nations propose to conduct sample return missions, and the issue is whether they will adhere to comparable standards for sample handling and biocontainment. The restrictions on such a sample return are quite stringent and require further research and development to make po

Research missions focused on asteroid sample return, including Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, and Tianwen-2, illustrate the challenges of collecting Asteroid mining is the hypothetical and technically possible extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Research missions focused on asteroid sample return, including Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, and Tianwen-2, illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology. As of 2024, around 127 grams of asteroid material hav Asteroid mining is the hypothetical and technically possible extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Research missions focused on asteroid sample return, including Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, OSIRIS-REx, and Tianwen-2, illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology. As of 2024, around 127 grams of asteroid material have been successfully brought to Earth from space. Asteroid research missions are complex endeavors that yield a tiny amount of material: less than 100 milligrams for Hayabusa, 5.4 grams for Hayabusa2, and approximately 121.6 grams for OSIRIS-REx, with Tianwen-2 mission currently ongoing. These figures are comparatively negligible when considering the substantial investments and resources allocated to these projects ($300 million for Hayabusa, $800 million for Hayabusa2, $1.16 billion for OSIRIS-REx and $70 million for Tianwen-2). Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids that are suitable for mining, and the challenges of extracting usable material in a space environment.

(1) robotic landers could launch from Earth to gather samples on the lunar surface and return the sample cache to the Gateway; (2) a roving robotic asset on the lunar surface could be teleoperated (either from the Gateway or Earth), caching samples from a region before returning them to the Gateway; and (3) humans could descend to the lunar surface from the Gateway and undertake geologic investigations, including sample return. These samples would be brought back with the humans. As the Gateway architecture is still evolving, it is unclear how efficient it will be in facilitating lunar sample return. 3.4. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE SAMPLE RETURN MISSIONS 3.4.1. Missions Returning Thermally Unstable Samples The return of cryogenic and atmospheric samples to Earth is essential in order to answer questions about presolar and nebular cosmochemistry, as well as to evaluate potential habitable environments in the solar system. The 2013-2022 decadal survey, applying the Aerospace Corporation's cost and technical evaluation methodology, did not select cryogenic sample return missions, as they were considered unachievable in the scope of this decadal survey. As discussed in Section 3.3.1 , comet surface sample return is part of the current New Frontiers mission competition, but CAESAR is not a cryogenic sample return mission and is designed to return rocky materials and sublimated ices in the form of gases. Successful return of cryogenic samples requires significant development of sample return technologies, an ability to pay the high costs of sample curation (which would require cryogenic storage and characterization technologies), and adherence to planetary protection principles. There are numerous challenges for cryogenic sample return missions involving sample collection, return, curation, and analysis. Each of these steps needs to be achieved without affecting the original state of the sample by chemical, thermal, or mechanical reactions, while at

Intelligent Unmanned Explorer for Deep Space Exploration asteroids or comets have received remarkable attention in the world. In small body explorations, especially, detailed in-situ surface exploration by tiny rover is one of effective and fruitful means and is expected to make strong contributions towards scientific studies. JAXA ISAS is promoting MUSES C mission, which is the worlds first sample and return attempt to or from the near earth asteroid. Hayabusa spacecraft in MUSES C mission took the tiny rover, which was expected to perform the in-situ surface exploration by hopping. This paper describes the system design, mobility and intelligence of the developed unmanned explorer. This paper also presents the ground experimental results and the flight results. Published as: Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Unmanned System (ICIUS 2007), Bali, Indonesia, October 24-25, 2007, Paper No. ICIUS2007-A004-OP arXiv categories: cs.RO