Japanese researchers are preparing to deploy a spacecraft on Tuesday on a historic mission to extract samples from one of Mars’ moons for the very first time, an endeavor that could shed new light on the beginnings of the Solar System and the emergence of life on Earth.
The unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe will be carried aboard Japan’s flagship H3 rocket, scheduled to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The spacecraft is expected to reach the vicinity of Mars around August next year, where it will begin operations around Phobos, one of the Red Planet’s two moons.
During its planned three-year mission near Mars, the probe is expected to land on Phobos and collect at least 10 grammes of surface material for analysis.
The samples could help scientists investigate the formation of Mars’ moons and provide clues about the early history of the Solar System.
The mission — which aims to be the first round trip to the Martian region — is a collaboration with US and European space agencies, as well as numerous universities and tech companies.
Those involved hope that it will help lay the groundwork for eventual human exploration.
JAXA hopes the mission will reveal how Mars and its two moons formed, a key piece of knowledge in working out how the Solar System was born.
One theory for the origin of the moons — the “giant impact” hypothesis — is that they formed after a celestial body collided with Mars.
The “capture” hypothesis, meanwhile, postulates that the moons are asteroids pulled in by Mars’s gravity.
Determining which theory is correct will help reveal “how a habitable environment for life might have arisen on the terrestrial planets”, JAXA said, referring to the four rocky worlds closest to the Sun — Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
– ‘Natural space station’ – JAXA said the mission will also explore the possibility of using Phobos as a “natural space station” by establishing the requirements for a round trip — something “essential for crewed Mars exploration”.
It will also observe the planet’s other moon, Deimos, although it will not land on it.
US and Chinese space agencies have also been vying to be the first to return rock samples from Mars’s surface back to Earth.
NASA’s Perseverance rover, which has been roaming across Mars since 2021, has already collected samples.
The return mission, however, was effectively cancelled by the administration of President Donald Trump following a vote by Congress in January.
China’s Tianwen-3 spacecraft is scheduled for launch around 2028 and hopes to return Mars samples to Earth as early as 2031 — potentially before the Japanese mission’s return.
What You Should Know
Japan is launching an ambitious space mission called the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe to land on Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons, and bring back surface material to Earth. This mission is a collaborative effort involving space agencies from the US and Europe, along with various international universities.
- Positive Impact: The mission could unlock crucial scientific knowledge about how planets and moons form, laying the necessary groundwork for future human space exploration.
- Potential Concerns: Complex interplanetary missions carry high technical risks and substantial financial investments, with competing global space programs racing to achieve similar milestones first.
