NASA partners with JAXA on mission to sample and study Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos
NASA will support JAXA's MMX spacecraft, which aims to launch in October, study Mars' moons and return a Phobos sample to Earth by 2031.
Japan's MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) spacecraft is set to lift off from Tanegashima Space Center on Oct. 19, carrying instruments to probe the two moons of Mars. NASA's role includes providing the MEGANE gamma-ray and neutron spectrograph, a pneumatic sampler that uses high-pressure nitrogen bursts, and communications via the Deep Space Network, as well as financing U.S. scientists on the team. The mission will arrive at Mars in August 2027, survey Phobos, collect surface material no earlier than Dec. 2028, and deliver the sample to Earth in 2031.
NASA will curate roughly 15% of the returned material at its Johnson Space Center Astromaterials Lab. Scientists hope the data and samples will resolve whether the moons are captured asteroids or debris from a massive impact on Mars, shedding light on early solar-system history.
Why it matters
Understanding Mars' moons could reveal clues about the early solar system and inform future human missions to Mars.
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