M-Matisse

The M-Matisse mission is the Mars Magnetosphere ATmosphere Ionosphere and Surface SciencE space mission. This will investigate the global dynamic response of the Martian plasma-atmosphere system to space weather activity with observations from two spacecraft.

Our instrument, M-SoSpIM, will be on each spacecraft. M-Matisse would shed light on how the solar wind influences Mars’s atmosphere, ionosphere and magnetosphere. The mission aims to investigate the impact of these interactions on Mars’s lower atmosphere and surface, which is a key aspect to understand the Red Planet’s habitability, as well as the evolution of its atmosphere and climate.

M-SoSpIM Progress to Date

M-Matisse is led by Beatriz Sanchez-Cano from the University of Leicester (UK) and has collaborations across Europe to develop the payloads. ESA made the selection of three potential medium class missions at the end of 2023. M-Matisse is one of these and is now in a competitive phase-A study. During this phase-A study, the missions teams work with the two potential spacecraft prime partners. One candidate M-class mission will be chosen by ESA in 2026.

Source and credits: ESA, JAXA, PMOD/WRC

M-Matisse ESTEC Meeting

The M-Matisse payload team met during the co-location meeting of the Mission Consolidation Review at ESA ESTEC, Netherlands.
26 March 2025

Final three for ESA’s next medium science mission

The space science community has narrowed down the shortlist for ESA’s next ‘medium’ mission to three finalists: M-Matisse . . .
ESA, 8 Nov. 2023