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Japan Launches Mission to Collect Samples from Mars' Moon Phobos
Confirmed
In Short: Japan launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft from Tanegashima Space Center, beginning a mission to collect samples from Phobos.
Japan launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft from Tanegashima Space Center on Tuesday, marking the start of a mission to collect samples from Phobos, one of Mars' two moons.
The MMX spacecraft, led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in partnership with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the French and German space agencies, will arrive at Mars in August 2027.
Upon arrival, MMX will use a device called a Pneumatic Sampler to collect at least 10 grams of soil from Phobos. The spacecraft is equipped with 13 scientific instruments, including NASA’s MEGANE instrument, which will help determine the elemental composition of Phobos' surface.
The mission aims to understand the origins of Phobos and Deimos, Mars' two moons. Scientists believe that meteor impacts on Mars could have blasted material up off the planet's surface, some of which may have landed on Phobos.
Planetary scientist Michael Zolensky of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston said, “A few grams of sample are going to be a real bonanza for scientists.”
The MMX spacecraft will not orbit Phobos but will use a quasi-satellite orbit, circling Mars in a path that keeps it near Phobos.
The mission's science and return samples will complement decades of Mars exploration and help inform future discoveries, including potential crewed missions to Mars.
Scientists hope that Martian material collected from Phobos will shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.
The mission begins with a journey lasting several months before MMX reaches Mars in 2027, with the spacecraft expected to return to Earth in 2031 with samples from Phobos.
The MMX project manager, Yasuhiro Kawakatsu, said samples from Phobos will provide useful data for scientists to consider using a Martian moon as a base for a future manned mission to the planet.
What this adds
The mission's launch was confirmed by multiple outlets, including ABC News, Aerospace Global News, and The Guardian.
The spacecraft will deploy a lander, touch down, and collect soil and small pebbles from Phobos.
The mission's success could provide insights into the formation of the Martian system and the origins of materials essential for life on Earth.
Background
A Japanese spacecraft has launched from Tanegashima Space Center on a mission to collect samples from Mars' moon Phobos.
On October 20, Japan launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft from Tanegashima Space Center, marking the start of a mission to collect samples from Phobos, one of Mars' two moons.
What's confirmed
- "By going to the Martian moons, studying them up close and bringing samples back to Earth we'll be able to determine whether Phobos material is more consistent with an asteroid composition or with debris created by a collision involving Mars. That's the kind of question that we need to have instruments right there at the object and have the detailed laboratory analysis of the actual material to answer," explained Statler.
- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has scheduled its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft to lift off aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41:03 am Japan time on Tuesday.
- Watch: Spacecraft heading to Mars' moon Phobos lifts off from Japan A spacecraft has launched from Japan headed for Mars' moon Phobos, where it will attempt to grab some moondust and bring it back to Earth.
- An artist’s impression of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft entering orbit around Mars, with Phobos, the mission’s target for exploration and sample collection, in the background. (CREDIT: JAXA) The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, launched MMX aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center.
- There are only three moons in the inner Solar System: our own Moon, and two around Mars, which are called Phobos and Deimos.
- NASA Details Contributions to Japan’s Martian Moons Mission Ahead of 19 October Launch NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are preparing to launch a mission to Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos, with plans to return the first samples from a moon other than Earth’s to laboratories in 2031.
What's still developing
- "Understanding where Phobos and Deimos came from goes to understanding what was going on at that time and where that stuff was coming from."
- "The general consensus is there is a very good chance that there is a tiny fraction of Mars material mixed in with the regolith, the soil, on the surface of Phobos."
- If you haven't received the e-mail in 24 hours, please contact customerservices@ioppublishing.org Japan has launched a sample-return mission to the Martian moon Phobos.
- Japan’s ambitious mission to unlock the mysteries of Mars’ moons began its journey into deep space after a picture-perfect launch aboard the H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Centre.
- They present it in a research letter titled " The dynamical surface of Phobos: A morphodynamic atlas," published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
- Another possibility is that that they formed when an asteroid collided with Mars, causing rocky material to be thrown out into space.
- Phobos samples could help resolve the moon’s origins JAXA hopes MMX’s observations and returned samples will help establish whether Phobos formed from debris created by a collision or was captured by Mars’s gravity.
- Both of these are tiny – Phobos is about 20km (12 miles) across and Deimos is about 10km (six miles) across.
Sources
- ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videoslink
- Aerospace Global Newslink
- Astronomy Magazinelink
- BBClink
- Physics Worldlink
- Science Newslink
- The Brighter Side of Newslink
- The Guardianlink
- The New Indian Expresslink
- USA Todaylink
- Globalnationlink
- Interestingengineeringlink
- BBClink
- Spaceanddefenselink
- Indiatodaylink
- Universe Todaylink