The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) is preparing for its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. A sample of the Martian moon Phobos is expected to return to Earth by 2029. Missionists hope to find clues to the origins of Mars 2 moons, as well as Mars itself, and possibly even traces of past life.
“We believe that the Martian moon Phobos is loaded with material that was lifted from Mars by meteorite impacts,” said the MMX team on Twitter. “By collecting this Phobos sample, MMX will help study traces of life on Mars and the new era of research into the habitability of Mars in the 2020s will begin.”
MMX currently has a scheduled launch in 2024, with the spacecraft expected to reach the Martian system by 2025, about a year after it left Earth. Current plans for the mission include an orbiter, a lander that touches down on Phobos with the ability to collect and return samples, and maybe even a rover.
A newly published overview of the MMX mission. Image credit: JAXA
The orbiter is placed in a so-called Quasi Satellite Orbit (QSO) around Phobos to collect scientific data. After both orbital and in-situ observations and sampling, the lander will take off to return to Earth with the material sample from Phobos. Current plans are for the lander to collect 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of soil. On a newscast this week, reported by the Associated Press, JAXA scientists said maybe about 0.1% of the surface soil on Phobos came from Mars and 10 grams could contain about 30 granules depending on the nature of the soil.
The team says its exploration of Martian moons will help improve the technology for future planetary and satellite exploration. They say their mission will contribute to advances such as the technology required to make tours between Earth and Mars, improved sampling techniques, and optimal communications technology using the Deep Space Network’s ground stations.
The objectives of the MMX mission are:
- To investigate whether the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids or fragments that merged with Mars after a huge impact, and to gain new knowledge about the formation process of Mars and the terrestrial planets.
- To clarify the mechanisms that control the surface evolution of the Martian moons and Mars and gain new insights into the history of the Martian sphere, including the Martian moons.
MMX infographic. Photo credit: JAXA & NASA.
Sending a mission to the moons of Mars has long been on the wish list of mission planners and space enthusiasts, and in recent years JAXA engineers and scientists have worked to put such a mission together.
Many scientists say studying and landing on the moons of Mars would be the next best thing to fly to Mars itself. Phobos and Deimos were viewed as locations for a possible human base that would allow easier access to Mars than going straight to the Red Planet, especially for the first human missions to the Mars system.
“Humans can realistically explore the surfaces of just a few objects, and Phobos and Deimos are on that list,” said Jim Green, NASA’s chief scientist of reaching the surface of the Red Planet in 2020, but that won’t be possible until they do Results of the MMX mission are complete. “
Artistic concept of the MMX spaceship in orbital configuration with its scientific instruments displayed. Photo credit: JAXA / ISAS
The mission will have international input, equipped with eleven instruments, four of which will be provided by international partners at NASA (USA), ESA (Europe), CNES (France) and DLR (Germany).
Instruments built by JAXA include a telescopic camera (narrow angle) for observing detailed terrain, the wide-angle camera for identifying hydrated minerals and organics, the LIDAR laser altimeter, a dust monitor and a mass spectrum analyzer for examining the charged ions around the moons, the sampling device and the sample recovery capsule and a radiation environment monitor.
NASA has committed to contribute a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer to study the elements that make up the Martian moons, as well as a pneumatic sampling device. CNES is building a near-infrared spectrometer that can identify the mineral composition and is working with DLR on the development of the rover that could explore the surface of Phobos. ESA is listed as a support for space communications equipment.
MMX’s fast turnaround time for sample returns would put Japan in return of samples from the Martian system in front of the United States and China, although they started later, MMX project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu said at this week’s news conference.
A new paper published by the JAXA Institute for Space and Space Research suggests that if Mars had once been a habitable planet with water on its surface, gigantic Martian dust storms would have thrown the water into space could. They say the material Phobos collected by MMX will help confirm whether this theory is true.
Continue reading:
MMX website
Associated press article
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.