The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is poised to embark on an ambitious journey to Mars' moon Phobos with its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. This groundbreaking endeavor, slated for an October 19 launch, represents a concerted international effort to delve into the origins and evolution of the Martian system and, by extension, our own planet's past.
Pioneering Expedition to Phobos: Unraveling Mars' Secrets
Scheduled for liftoff at 3:41 p.m. EDT (4:41 a.m. local time on October 20) from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, the MMX mission will utilize an H3 rocket to send its spacecraft towards Mars. This venture, spearheaded by JAXA with significant contributions from NASA in scientific instrumentation and expertise, aims to achieve an unprecedented feat: both a landing on Phobos and the return of a sample from its surface to Earth for meticulous analysis.
As articulated by MMX Project Manager Kawakatsu Yasuhiro, Phobos remains a largely uncharted territory. The primary objective is to collect samples that could illuminate fundamental questions regarding the genesis of Martian moons, the evolutionary trajectory of Mars itself, and the processes that led to the presence of water and organic compounds on terrestrial planets, including Earth.
Mars' celestial companions, Phobos and Deimos, are notably smaller and possess irregular shapes when compared to Earth's Moon, resembling asteroids rather than spherical bodies. Their exact origins remain a subject of scientific debate; theories suggest they might be captured asteroids or fragments ejected from Mars following a colossal impact. Historically, missions targeting these moons have faced considerable challenges, with past attempts by the Soviet Union and Russia encountering significant setbacks.
The MMX mission is structured around two pivotal scientific inquiries: understanding the formation mechanisms of Phobos and Deimos, and investigating the ancient history of Mars, a planet once characterized by a dense atmosphere and flowing water. Scientists, including Principal Investigator Kuramoto Kiyoshi, believe the answers to these mysteries lie within the Martian moons, which exhibit characteristics similar to carbonaceous asteroids – celestial bodies known to harbor the essential ingredients for atmospheric formation and water.
Dubbed by JAXA as Japan's most extensive international collaborative mission in lunar and planetary exploration, MMX involves key partnerships. The French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed IDEFIX, a lightweight rover designed for deployment on Phobos. France also provided an infrared spectrometer, while the European Space Agency (ESA) offers crucial scientific and operational backing.
The MMX spacecraft is projected to reach Mars by August 2027. A month later, it will enter a quasi-satellite orbit, appearing to circle Phobos while actually orbiting Mars in sync with the moon's movement. This sophisticated spacecraft, measuring 30 feet in length, comprises a propulsion module, an exploration module, and a return module. IDEFIX is scheduled for deployment in early 2029. In 2030, the main spacecraft will execute two touchdowns to collect a minimum of 0.35 ounces (10 grams) of regolith before undertaking a brief flyby of Deimos on its homeward journey. The return capsule is anticipated to land in Australia in 2031.
For reconnaissance of potential landing sites for both the rover and sample collection, MMX is equipped with advanced instruments, including a telescopic camera capable of resolving features as small as 16 inches, a wide-angle multicolor imager, and a laser altimeter. NASA's Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma rays and Neutrons (MEGANE) instrument will conduct a chemical analysis of Phobos from orbit. Additional instruments will monitor dust in Phobos' orbit, particles escaping from Mars' atmosphere, those dislodged from Phobos' surface by solar winds, and the ambient radiation environment.
Upon landing, two distinct samplers will be deployed for excavation. One is a coring device mounted on a robotic arm, designed to penetrate nearly an inch into the regolith. The other, a NASA-supplied pneumatic device, will utilize pressurized nitrogen to propel surface grains into a collection container, akin to the method employed by OSIRIS-REx for its Bennu sample. MMX also carries two ultra-high-definition cameras, developed in collaboration with Japan's public television broadcaster NHK, to capture breathtaking 8K footage of Mars and its moons from orbit.
Just as our Moon offers a geological record of Earth's turbulent early history, Phobos holds the potential to unlock crucial insights into Mars' ancient past. The scientific data gathered by MMX could elucidate the transformation of Mars from a world teeming with a thick atmosphere and liquid water to the arid, cold 'Red Planet' we observe today. As Kuramoto Kiyoshi emphasizes, the MMX mission promises to unveil a wealth of information about how Earth, Mars' neighbor, evolved into a life-sustaining planet and how it has managed to maintain this unique capacity.
The MMX mission represents a monumental stride in planetary exploration, offering a unique opportunity to understand not only the mysteries of Mars and its moons but also the broader processes that govern the formation and evolution of planetary systems, including our own. By bringing samples from Phobos back to Earth, scientists hope to piece together a more complete narrative of the solar system's past, providing invaluable context for the search for life beyond Earth and the future of human space exploration.