Mission set to blast off for Mars to grab a piece of its moon
Summary
A Japanese space mission called Mars Moons Exploration (MMX) will launch to Mars's moon Phobos in October 2026. The mission aims to bring back a small sample of moon dust to Earth by 2031, which scientists hope will explain how Mars's moons were formed.Key Facts
- The MMX spacecraft will launch from Japan and reach Phobos in August 2027.
- Phobos is Mars's larger moon, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide, and irregularly shaped.
- The spacecraft will first study Mars’s smaller moon Deimos before focusing on Phobos.
- A small rover will land on Phobos to find a safe site for sample collection.
- The spacecraft will collect about 10 grams (a small amount) of moon dust using a robotic arm and samplers.
- The sample will land in the Woomera desert in South Australia in 2031 for scientific study.
- Scientists want to determine if Mars’s moons were formed by a giant impact on Mars or if they are captured asteroids.
- The sample might also contain tiny grains from Mars, giving more information about the planet’s history.
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