DESTINY+

DESTINY+ is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) science and technology mission to the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower.^[1] It is to study Phaethon during a flyby and analyze interplanetary dust, which brings carbon and organic matter to Earth.^[2]

The mission

DESTINY+ is aiming for launch in Japan's fiscal year 2028, sharing an H3 rocket with ESA's Ramses spacecraft.^[2][1] The plan changed after a ground test failure of the Epsilon S rocket in July 2023, and in the revised plan the H3 sends DESTINY+ directly into an interplanetary trajectory, with the earlier phase in Earth orbit dropped.^[2]

The spacecraft is to fly past the asteroid Apophis first, as a rehearsal, and then fly past Phaethon in fiscal year 2030.^[2][1] Phaethon's orbit makes a rendezvous impractical, so DESTINY+ is to image its surface and make other observations during a brief, high-speed encounter at about 36 km per second.^[2]

The spacecraft

DESTINY+ uses improved μ10 ion engines to change its orbit, and it carries a dust analyzer and two cameras built for Phaethon.^[1] It is also a test of technologies for low-cost, frequent deep space missions, including thin, lightweight solar arrays and a new reversible thermal panel.^[1] The asteroid and its meteor shower are covered on the Phaethon page.