Japan sends MMX toward Phobos to return samples to Earth
The five-year mission could give scientists material from Mars’ largest moon to study how the Solar System formed.
Japan has begun the MMX mission, a $578 million effort to travel to Phobos, collect material from Mars’ largest moon, and bring it back to Earth. The spacecraft launched Monday from Tanegashima Space Center on an H3 rocket at 3:41 pm EDT, or 4:41 am Japan Standard Time Tuesday. The mission is planned as a five-year expedition and is intended to help scientists better understand how the Solar System formed. The launch also marked the first flight of the H3 in a new configuration with four solid boosters, full-throttle engines, and a longer payload shroud to carry Japan’s most ambitious interplanetary probe yet.
Why it matters
If MMX succeeds, researchers will have samples from Phobos rather than only remote observations. That gives them direct material to study and could sharpen what is known about the moon’s origin and the early Solar System. The launch also put a new H3 rocket setup through its first flight, but the main significance is the sample return itself.
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Sources
- Ars Technica