Japan Launches First Mission to Bring Back Samples from Phobos
In short
- JAXA plans to launch the MMX spacecraft on a new H-3 rocket.
- The mission is expected to take five years.
- Scientists hope the samples will explain how Phobos and Deimos formed.
Why the Good News Desk likes this one
Phobos and Deimos are small, potato-shaped moons that have never been fully studied. Samples could show how they formed and may shed light on the origins of life in the solar system. Data from the mission could also help scientists judge whether a Martian moon could serve as a base for a future crewed mission.
From The Korea Times
TOKYO — Japan is set to launch a spacecraft on the world's first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars. Scientists hope the mission, which is expected to take five years, will provide clues to how Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos formed, and hopefully even shed light on the origins of life in the solar system. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s launch of the spacecraft Tuesday on a new Japanese mainstay H-3 rocket comes as the United States, China and others consider sending astronauts to Mars. Samples from Phobos will...
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For kids
Far away, a spacecraft is getting ready to fly to Mars. It will visit a small moon called Phobos and bring back bits of rock. Scientists hope these rocks will tell us how the moons were made. Talk about it: What would you want to learn from a rock from space?
