MELOS
| Names | Mars Explorations with Landers and Orbiters (2008) Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search (2015) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology demonstrator |
| Operator | JAXA |
| Mission duration | Nominal: 68 sols Desired extension: 1 Mars year |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | JAXA |
| Landing mass | EDM (sky crane): 909 kg (2,004 lb) Rover: 150 kg (330 lb) |
| Payload mass | 15 kg (33 lb) |
| Power | Solar panels (1.5 m²) Battery: 720 Wh |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2024 (proposed) |
| Mars rover | |
| Landing date | 2025 |
| Landing site | Valles Marineris or Marte Vallis |
| Distance driven | Goal: 50 km (31 mi) |
MELOS (Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search) is a Japanese rover mission concept under study for an engineering demonstration of precision landing, and to look for possible biosignatures on Mars using a rover. JAXA has not published updates since 2015.