Japan Is Launching a Probe to Collect the First-Ever Samples From a Martian Moon
Japan is preparing the MMX probe to collect and return samples from the Martian moon Phobos by 2031. The mission aims to determine whether the moons formed from a massive impact with Mars or were captured asteroids.
Why it matters
Understanding the origin of Martian moons provides critical data on the formation of the solar system and the history of the planet Mars.
They won’t arrive quickly, however. The MMX probe will take approximately one year to reach Mars. It will then collect samples during three years of operations while orbiting the red planet before taking another year to return to Earth. If all goes well, scientists expect to receive the moon rocks in 2031.
One of the most interesting questions the probe can answer is how Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, formed. There are two main possibilities. One is that the moons condensed from material ejected during a massive collision with Mars. The other hypothesis is that the moons were asteroids from the outer solar system that were captured by Mars’ gravity.
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