Martian Moons Exploration Mission:
Japan is preparing to launch an ambitious Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to one of Mars’ mysterious moons, Phobos, by using Japan’s H3 rocket.
- Martian Moons Exploration Mission is a mission of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
- The mission will primarily focus on Phobos, a Martian moon that has never been explored.
- It will observe the topography, internal structure, composition, and gravity of the moon, and return samples of sand.
- It aims to collect at least 10 grams of material from Phobos and return it to Earth in 2031.
- It will also study both Phobos and Deimos, Mars’ two small moons, to investigate their origins and evolution.
- The mission will travel to the Martian system aboard Japan’s H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center.
- It is scheduled to reach Mars in 2027.
- It will deploy a small rover, developed jointly by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and France’s CNES, to study the surface and support exploration.
- NASA is contributing two key technologies to this mission:
- MEGANE instrument, which will analyse the elemental composition of Phobos, and a pneumatic sampler designed to collect surface material.
- Pneumatic sampler that uses high-pressure nitrogen gas to lift surface particles into a collection container.
