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Japan Launches Mission To Study Martian Moon

Japan Launches Mission To Study Martian Moon
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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to study Phobos and Deimos. The mission aims to deploy a rover to Phobos in 2029 and return samples to Earth by 2031.

Why it matters

Understanding the composition of Martian moons provides critical data on the formation of the solar system and the history of Mars.

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Humanity has been sending robotic explorers to Mars since the 1970s, and for our efforts we’ve been rewarded with not only incredible imagery of the Red Planet’s magnificent desolation, but a wealth of information about the alien world and how it’s changed over the last several billion years. But comparatively, we know almost nothing about the planet’s two moons, Phobos and Deimos. In fact, as recently as the 1960s, there were some scientists that believed the unusual shape, mass, and orbit of Phobos hinted at the possibility that it was no moon at all, and was in actuality a derelict spacecraft of some type.

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