MMX begins its journey to Mars’s moons
Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration mission, known as MMX, has launched from Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H3 rocket, starting an ambitious effort to study Phobos and Deimos at close range. The spacecraft lifted off at 04:41 Japan Standard Time on October 20, according to the European Space Agency.
The launch puts MMX on course for Mars, where it is expected to arrive next summer. Its central target is Phobos, the larger of Mars’s two small moons. The mission is intended to become the first spacecraft to orbit Phobos, collect material from its surface and return samples from the Mars system to Earth.
MMX is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, with participation from NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR and ESA. For Europe, the project is a Mission of Opportunity within ESA’s science program.
A mission designed for close investigation
Phobos is a particularly compelling target because its origin remains an open scientific question. The moon could preserve clues to the early history of Mars and the processes that shaped the inner solar system. Sampling its surface offers researchers a way to examine that material with laboratory instruments on Earth rather than relying only on remote observations.
ESA says MMX will investigate both Phobos and Deimos after arriving at Mars, with the mission’s science team planning observations, analyzing instrument data and studying the material ultimately returned from Phobos.
The mission’s objectives also make it a technical milestone. Operating around a small body near Mars, conducting surface sampling and safely sending material back to Earth requires navigation, communications and mission operations across a long interplanetary campaign.
International support after launch
ESA supplied deep-space communications equipment for MMX and will provide ground-station support through its Estrack network. That infrastructure will help send commands to the spacecraft and receive its data during the journey and operations at Mars.
In a statement published by ESA, its director of science, Carole Mundell, congratulated JAXA and the mission team on the successful launch. ESA project scientist Elliot Sefton-Nash said the launch had sent MMX onward to Mars and that the team was preparing for its arrival next summer.
The H3 launch is therefore only the first stage of a mission that will unfold over years. Once at Mars, MMX must carry out its planned observations and sampling work before beginning the long process of returning its cargo to Earth.
Why the launch matters
Sample-return missions are among the most demanding forms of planetary exploration because they combine reconnaissance, spacecraft operations near another world, sample acquisition and a controlled return to Earth. MMX adds another distinction: its destination is not a planet or asteroid, but a Martian moon.
If the mission meets its goals, the returned Phobos material could give scientists direct evidence to investigate the moon’s composition and history. It would also mark the first return of samples from the Mars system, extending the reach of planetary sample science beyond the bodies that have been studied through meteorites, lunar missions and asteroid-return projects.
For now, MMX has cleared its first major test: launch. The spacecraft is beginning its cruise toward Mars, while the international team turns its attention to arrival, close-up exploration of the two moons and the attempt to bring a piece of Phobos home.
This article is based on reporting by esa.int. Read the original article.
Originally published on esa.int
