Japan's next mission will bag samples from a Martian moon
What's the story
Japan is gearing up for a historic space mission, one that will be the first-ever attempt to return samples from Phobos, one of Mars's two potato-shaped moons. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to launch the spacecraft on Tuesday using its new H-3 rocket. The five-year-long mission could offer insights into the formation of Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos, and possibly even hint at the origins of life in our solar system.
Mission significance
'Most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system'
"Despite their potential importance, Martian moons have never been fully investigated," MMX project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu said.
"They are known as the most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system," he added.
The samples from Phobos could provide valuable data for scientists considering a Martian moon as a base for future manned missions to Mars.
Moons' mystery
Why are Martian moons important?
Phobos and Deimos, named after the Greek mythological personifications of fear and terror, remain largely unexplored despite multiple missions to Mars since the 1960s.
Some scientists believe these irregular crater-pocked bodies could be remnants of debris from a large celestial object that crashed into Mars. Others think they could be asteroids from elsewhere in space.
JAXA officials hope samples from Phobos will provide answers to these questions.
Sample strategy
Sample collection from Phobos will also include Martian material
Phobos is closer to Mars than Deimos, which is why scientists chose it for sample collection.
The moon orbits Mars at a distance of about 6,000km three times a day.
JAXA officials say material from Mars will make up about 0.1% of the collected Phobos material.
This could also provide clues about Deimos's origin as the two moons are believed to have similar roots.
Spacecraft specifics
What will the MMX spacecraft do?
The MMX spacecraft, weighing some five tons, is made up of three modules - propulsion, exploration, and return. Only the third module will return home with the samples stored in a capsule.
It will carry 13 instruments including a rover jointly developed by France and Germany that will land on Phobos.
A Japanese radiation monitor will collect data for future manned Mars explorations.
Landing strategy
Landing on Phobos won't be easy
Landing on the pockmarked moon with just one two-thousandth of Earth's gravity is no easy feat.
The spacecraft has to pick a relatively smooth and flat spot for its landing based on topographical data from the rover, and collect samples in two hours.
To reduce bouncing at touchdown, MMX's exploration module has four-legged landing gear with shock absorption features.