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NASA Joins Japan to Land on Mars' Moon
15 Oct
Summary
- A Japan-led mission will survey and potentially land on Mars' moons.
- NASA is contributing a spectrometer and navigation support.
- The mission aims to uncover the origin of Phobos and Deimos.
Japan's space agency, JAXA, is leading an ambitious uncrewed mission to Mars, the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX). NASA is a key partner, contributing to the spacecraft's instrumentation and support.
The MMX mission aims to survey Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos, with the groundbreaking goal of landing on Phobos. This landing is planned for December 2028, with a subsequent sample collection from the moon's surface.
Scientists are keen to understand the origin of these moons. Theories suggest they could be remnants of a past collision with Mars or captured asteroids. NASA's involvement includes developing the MEGANE spectrometer, crucial for analyzing Phobos' surface composition.
The mission is slated for launch on October 19 from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center. If successful, the MMX spacecraft is expected to reach Mars by August 2027, potentially returning samples to Earth by 2031.
