Japan Successfully Launches Mission to Bring Home the First-Ever Martian Moon Samples.
Japan's space agency JAXA, with NASA, ESA and European partners, prepared to launch the MMX spacecraft toward Mars, aiming to collect samples from the moon Phobos and return them to Earth by 2031.
Japan's space agency, JAXA, and its international partners were preparing to send the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft toward Mars. The launch was scheduled from Tanegashima Space Center in the early hours of Tuesday in Japan, which was Monday afternoon in the United States. After almost a year of travel, the spacecraft is to reach Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos.
MMX is designed to observe both moons from a distance and to collect samples from Phobos. The central question is how the moons formed. Some traits, such as the pattern of visible light they reflect, point to asteroids captured by Mars' gravity. Their circular orbits aligned with the Martian equator suggest they could instead have formed from debris after a giant asteroid struck the young planet, NASA's Tom Statler said at a press briefing.
Onboard instruments should help narrow the options. The MEGANE instrument will measure particles and gamma rays from Phobos to determine its elemental makeup. More volatile elements such as hydrogen or potassium would lean toward the captured-asteroid idea, while fewer would support the impact idea. "We know nothing about Phobos' elemental composition," said David Lawrence of Johns Hopkins University, who leads the MEGANE team.
A rover will land first to explore the terrain. The spacecraft will then land and collect at least 10 grams of material using two sampling methods, a safeguard in case one fails. The samples are meant to reach Earth by 2031, which would make them the first returned from a moon other than Earth's. Kiyoshi Kuramoto, who leads the mission's international scientists, said the landing site cannot be chosen until the team has close-up observations of the moon.
The challenge is considerable. Russia sent three probes to Phobos starting in the 1980s, and all failed. The MMX team points to its international expertise, with contributions from NASA, the European Space Agency, and the German and French space agencies. JAXA also returned samples from asteroid Itokawa in 2010 and asteroid Ryugu in 2020. Kuramoto noted that Phobos differs from Ryugu in its orbit and gravity.
Note: The headline says Japan successfully launched the mission, but the page was written before liftoff and says the launch was set to happen. It does not confirm the launch took place or succeeded.
At a Glance
- MMX was scheduled to launch from Tanegashima Space Center in the early hours of a Tuesday in Japan, with about a year of travel to Mars.
- The spacecraft aims to collect at least 10 grams from Phobos using two sampling methods.
- Samples are targeted to return to Earth by 2031, the first ever from a moon other than Earth's.
- Russia sent three probes to Phobos starting in the 1980s, and all three failed.
- JAXA returned asteroid samples in 2010 (Itokawa) and 2020 (Ryugu).
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.