A Japanese spacecraft has left for Mars on a unique mission to find the mysterious moons of Mars and bring samples from there. Five space agencies of the world have come together in this five-year mission. The mission will attempt to land a robotic prospector and rover on Phobos, the larger and nearest moon of Mars.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is leading the mission. The agency launched the spacecraft this morning, Tuesday (October 20) from the country’s main spaceport, Tanegashima Island. The expedition has been named Martian Moons Exploration (MMX). It is estimated that this will cost approximately $578 million.

No success yet

In the last 50 years, NASA has successfully landed nine spacecraft on Mars, and in 2021, China will also land its spacecraft there. But, no one has yet reached Phobos or its companion moon ‘Deimos’. Apart from this, no one has so far succeeded in bringing back samples from Mars or its moons.

Samples will reach the earth by 2031!

In such a scenario, if the mission is successful, samples of dust, soil and rocks from Phobos will reach Earth by 2031. This will be the world’s first mission to take samples from a Martian moon and study them on Earth. Scientists hope this will help unravel many mysteries surrounding the origin of Mars’ moons and planetary formation.

Japan brought back samples from the asteroid twice

Tom Statler, a NASA astrophysicist associated with the project, said that there is a lot of excitement, a lot of excitement and a lot of surprises hidden in it. Japan has an edge in this regard, as it has already brought back samples from asteroids twice. Phobos is a rugged potato-shaped rock, about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter. Examining its fragments may reveal how the moons of Mars, and perhaps moons elsewhere, were formed.

‘Martian Moons Exploration’ Mission

The mission, called ‘Martian Moons Exploration’ (MMX), involves the spacecraft, which will reach Mars by the end of next summer. It will put the 5-ton Phobo S into orbit around the Red Planet and then launch the French-German rover from there. The rover is named ‘Idefix’, named after the white terrier dog from the ‘Asterix’ comics.

The rover will land on the surface of Phobos

The ‘Idefix’ rover, no bigger than a microwave oven, will automatically land on the surface of Phobos. There is very little gravity, so it will float for a few minutes before stopping. This four-wheeled rover is designed in such a way that it can right itself even if it falls upside down. However, Julien Baroch of the French Space Agency says nothing can be said if it sinks into soft soil or gets stuck between rocks. He said that once the rover’s solar panels were exposed, it would not be able to right itself. It will therefore move very slowly, about 1 millimeter per second (0.04 inches per second).

According to Baruch, Idefix will orbit Phobos for 100 days and act as a security scout. Japanese flight controllers want their lead vehicle (a stationary four-legged lander) to avoid dusty soil and rough terrain when it surfaces to collect samples in late 2028 or 2029.

Only two hours will be spent on Phobos

The lander will spend only two hours on Phobos. During this time it will drill and collect at least 10 grams of material, after which it will return to space. Before leaving near Mars in 2030, it will study DeMos through several flybys. After this, it will quickly return to Earth, so that it can deliver samples to the Australian desert in 2031.

Dangerous mission

This is an extremely dangerous operation, with a lot of debris already strewn along the way. Even the names of these moons are not very comforting. In Greek, phobos means ‘fear’ and deimos means ‘awe’. They are the twin sons of Ares (Mars in Roman mythology), the god of war.

Russia has failed all three of its attempts at Phobos and many other Mars missions. In another Japanese Mars mission, their spacecraft failed to reach the orbit of the ‘Red Planet’. Even NASA has failed many times in trying to find the answer to this important question: Did life ever exist on Mars?

A study of the moons of Mars

By studying the Martian moons, scientists are hoping to learn whether Phobos and Deimos formed after a massive collision between Mars and an asteroid. It is also possible that these moons are actually stray asteroids, caught in the gravitational pull of Mars. Either way, scientists hope to find some traces of Mars on Phobos. The samples obtained from this would be a great ‘two-for-one’ opportunity, which could help to understand the mysteries of the formation process of planets and moons and perhaps the origin of life. Lindsay Hayes, NASA’s acting planetary science director, said the findings will help plan future Mars missions (including missions with astronauts).

Markus Greibenstein, rover chief at the German Space Agency, said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We are part of the first mission to bring back samples from the Martian system. Japan is not the only country trying to find scientific treasures hidden in the rocks and soil of the Martian system. China is planning to launch a mission to bring back samples from Mars in 2028. At the same time, NASA is still figuring out how to return more than 30 sample tubes collected by the ‘Perseverance’ Mars rover (which is at the forefront of driving beyond Earth).

Neck-to-neck competition between Japan and China

Japan and China could face fierce competition in the race to bring back samples from the Martian system. Both are targeted for 2031. Japan is investing 350 million dollars in this mission. Apart from this, NASA is contributing about $87 million, the French Space Agency about $68 million, the German Space Agency about $56 million and the European Space Agency about $17 million.