Japan's Mars exploration ambitions

[selvaarchi]

Japan is planing to send a sample return probe to one of Mars moons. If the mission is given the go ahead, they target to launch it by 2022.

The early 2020s will be a busy time for Mars as China, ESA, India, Russia, United Arab Emirates and the US have all also expressed intentions of sending missions there in that time frame.

http://www.popsci.com/japan-wants-di...-martian-moons

JAXA announced on Tuesday that it wants to land a probe on Deimos and/or Phobos to scrape up some dirt and bring it back to Earth-bound scientists. The samples could tell us about the composition and history of these moons.

The mission does not have funding secured yet, and details about the spacecraft, its target, and the timeline are still hazy, but JAXA thinks the mission could launch by 2022. If it gets off the ground, the spacecraft would be the first to land on a Martian moon. Russia attempted a sample-return from Phobos with its 2011 Fobos-Grunt mission, but the probe crashed back to Earth before it could leave orbit.

The new mission may potentially influence NASA’s plans to put humans on Mars in the 2030s.

[selvaarchi]

Looks like the mission has been given the go ahead with the name - Mars Moons eXploration (MMX). NASA is buliding an instrument to be included in the mission. The mission will now launch in 2024.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/NAS...Moons_999.html

NASA has selected a science instrument for an upcoming Japan-led sample return mission to the moons of Mars planned for launch in 2024. The instrument, a sophisticated neutron and gamma-ray spectrograph, will help scientists resolve one of the most enduring mysteries of the Red Planet - when and how the small moons formed.

The Mars Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is in development by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). MMX will visit the two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, land on the surface of Phobos, and collect a surface sample. Plans are for the sample to be returned to Earth in 2029. NASA is supporting the development of one of the spacecraft's suite of seven science instruments.

[selvaarchi]

More information on Japan's Mars Moons eXploration mission (MMX).

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason...-meet-mmx.html

You may have heard that both NASA and China have plans to return samples from Mars. NASA's Mars 2020 rover will curate a cache of samples for future retrieval, while China is kicking off their Mars ambitions in 2020 with an all-in-one orbiter, lander and rover. Both missions could wrap up before or around 2030.

But did you know there's also a Phobos sample mission in the works? Meet Japan's Mars Moons eXploration mission, also known as MMX, which will launch in 2024. MMX will study both Phobos and Deimos and collect a sample of Phobos for return to Earth in 2029. Japan's not going to Phobos, alone though; NASA is providing a key instrument that will get in on the fun.

[selvaarchi]

After the success of MASCOT, JAXA wished to collaborate with the same European partners with a rover for the Mars moon mission.

http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2018/10/...tement_MMX.pdf

The DLR - CNES asteroid lander MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout) onboard
Hayabusa 2 is intended to land on the surface of asteroid Ryugu on October 3,
2018. MASCOT will significantly enhance the mission’s science result through
performing remote observation as well as surface composition analysis.

In the light of this success, JAXA, CNES, and DLR jointly declare their wish to
cooperate on the MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission as follows:

MMX is a JAXA led mission to explore Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, aiming
for observation, landing, and sample return.

JAXA, CNES, and DLR have agreed that the rover onboard MMX would be
developed through French-German collaboration.

[selvaarchi]

The mission is taking shape with the launch planed for 2024.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/A_R...eimos_999.html

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. These are the target of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, which also involves international partners. Scheduled for launch in 2024. it will enter Mars orbit in 2025, and return samples to Earth in 2029. The spacecraft will carry a German-French rover that will land on either Phobos or Deimos and explore the surface in detail for several months.

The scientists hope to gain new insights into the formation and evolution of the solar system. At the International Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), the Japanese space agency JAXA and the French space agency CNES agreed to further collaborate on the world's first exploration of a minor solar system body with a rover.

"The world-first exploration of the Martian moons with a rover is a major technical challenge that we are tackling within the framework of our strong and proven partnership with Japan and France," says Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board. "Together, we want to push the boundaries of what is technically feasible in robotic exploration and expand our knowledge about the origin of the solar system."

[selvaarchi]

"JAXA to explore Mars' moon 'Phobos'"

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200220_01/

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has announced plans to send a probe to one of Mars' moons and bring back samples from its surface.

A science ministry panel of experts approved the plan on Wednesday.

Mars has two moons, called Phobos and Deimos.

Under the JAXA-led project called Martian Moons eXploration, researchers will launch the probe to Phobos in 2024 and bring back samples in 2029. They say the mission is the first of its kind in the world.

[selvaarchi]

"Rover that will explore Mars moon Phobos starts landing tests"

https://www.space.com/mars-moon-phob...ng-tests-begin

The first rover to explore the moon of another planet has started practicing for its landing, even though that historic touchdown is at least six years away.

The 55-lb. (25 kilograms) robot is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Mar*tian Moons eX*plo*ration (MMX) mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2024 and arrive at the Red Planet the following year.

In late 2026 or early 2027, the MMX Rover, which is being developed by a German-French team, will descend to the surface of the 14-mile-wide (22 kilometers) Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons. (The smaller one, Deimos, is just 8 miles, or 13 km, across.)

[publiusr]

H-3 at least points the way towards greater capability