The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) is a robotic space probe set for launch in 2024 to bring back the first samples from

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

' largest moon Phobos. Developed by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...

) and announced on 9 June 2015, MMX will land and collect samples from Phobos once or twice, along with conducting

Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to: * Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology * Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites * Elecnor Deimos, a Spanish aerospace company * ...

flyby observations and monitoring Mars' climate. The mission aims to provide key information to help determine whether the Martian moons are captured asteroids or the result of a larger body hitting Mars. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and other Japanese government officials officially approved the MMX project to proceed into development on 19 February 2020, according to a post on JAXA's website.

Overview

The spacecraft will enter orbit around Mars, then transfer to Phobos, and land once or twice and gather sand-like regolith particles using a simple

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A central ...

system. The lander mission aims to retrieve a minimum of samples. The spacecraft will then take off from Phobos and make several flybys of the smaller moon Deimos before sending the Return Module back to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, arriving in July 2029. The mission architecture uses three modules: Propulsion module (1800 kg), Exploration module (150 kg) and the Return module (1050 kg).Orbit Maintenance of Quasi-Satellite Trajectories via Mean Relative Orbit Elements
Nicola Baresi, Lamberto Dell'Elce, Josué Cardoso dos Santos, and Yasuhiro Kawakatsu International Astronautical Congress, Bremen, Germany, 2018 The mission leader is Yasuhiro Kawakatsu. Development and testing of key components, including the sampler, is ongoing. As of 2020, MMX is scheduled to be launched in September 2024, and will return to Earth five years later.

Scientific payload

The scientific payload consists on Japanese and international contributions: * TENGOO - TElescopic Nadir imager for GeOmOrphology, a narrow field camera for detailed terrain study * OROCHI - Optical RadiOmeter composed of CHromatic Imagers, a wide field visible light camera *

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

- Light Detection and Ranging, uses a laser to reflect light from the moon's surface, to study surface altitude and albedo * MIRS - MMX InfraRed Spectrometer, a near-infrared observation device for characterizing the minerals that make up the moons of Mars. Developed in partnership with CNES,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* MEGANE - (MEGANE means "eyeglasses" in Japanese) Mars-moon Exploration with GAmma rays and NEutrons, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer developed in partnership with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

* CMDM - Circum-Martian Dust Monitor, a dust counting device for characterizing the environment around the Martian moons * MSA - Mass Spectrum Analyzer, an instrument to study the ion environment around Mars JAXA will partner with the

Japan Broadcasting Corporation , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestria ...

(NHK) to develop the "Super Hi-Vision Camera" which combines a 4K and 8K camera, making it the first time that Mars will be imaged in 8K resolution. Images will be regularly transmitted back to Earth with flight data, in order to recreate MMX exploration around Mars and its moons. The original image data will be stored in a recording device in MMX's return capsule and brought back to Earth as part of the sample-return portion of the mission. Additionally, the Gravity GradioMeter (GGM), Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), Mission Survival Module (MSM) were proposed as additional instruments. Following a study by the French CNES space agency, it was decided that the spacecraft will deliver a small rover provided by CNES and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The rover will be equipped with cameras, a

radiometer A radiometer or roentgenometer is a device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation. Generally, a radiometer is an infrared radiation detector or an ultraviolet detector. Microwave radiometers operate in the microwave w ...

, and a

Raman spectrometer Raman spectroscopy () (named after Indian physicist C. V. Raman) is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Raman s ...

for in-situ surface exploration of the Martian moon.

Sampling

MMX's sampler is equipped with two sampling methods: the Coring Sampler (C-SMP) to gain regolith at depths deeper than 2 cm from the Phobos surface, and the Pneumatic Sampler (P-SMP) from the Phobos surface. The robotic arm will collect regolith from the ground by shooting the C-SMP mechanism. The C-SMP mechanism is designed to rapidly perform subsurface sampling to collect over 10 grams of the regolith. It is equipped with an ejecting actuator that uses a special shape memory alloy, SCSMA. P-SMP that is installed nearby the footpad of the landing leg uses an air gun to puff pressurised gas, pushing about 10 grams of soil into the sample container.Preparing for the unexpected: a second way to sample a moon
Yasutaka Satou, ''JAXA News'' 25 October 2017 Both C-SMP and P-SMP can collect samples quickly because the entire sampling procedure shall be performed only in 2.5 hours. After taking off from the landing site, the equipped robotic arm transfers both C-SMP and P-SMP canister to the sample return capsule. The spacecraft will then take off from Phobos and make several flybys of the smaller moon Deimos before carrying the Sample Return Capsule back to Earth, arriving in July 2029.

References

External links

Mission website
at JAXA.jp {{Future spaceflights Japanese space probes Landers (spacecraft) Missions to Mars Phobos (moon) Sample return missions Proposed space probes 2024 in spaceflight

Overview

Scientific payload

Sampling

See also

References

External links