Earth, Planets and Space (Jan 2022)
Martian moons exploration MMX: sample return mission to Phobos elucidating formation processes of habitable planets
- Kiyoshi Kuramoto,
- Yasuhiro Kawakatsu,
- Masaki Fujimoto,
- Akito Araya,
- Maria Antonietta Barucci,
- Hidenori Genda,
- Naru Hirata,
- Hitoshi Ikeda,
- Takeshi Imamura,
- Jörn Helbert,
- Shingo Kameda,
- Masanori Kobayashi,
- Hiroki Kusano,
- David J. Lawrence,
- Koji Matsumoto,
- Patrick Michel,
- Hideaki Miyamoto,
- Tomokatsu Morota,
- Hiromu Nakagawa,
- Tomoki Nakamura,
- Kazunori Ogawa,
- Hisashi Otake,
- Masanobu Ozaki,
- Sara Russell,
- Sho Sasaki,
- Hirotaka Sawada,
- Hiroki Senshu,
- Shogo Tachibana,
- Naoki Terada,
- Stephan Ulamec,
- Tomohiro Usui,
- Koji Wada,
- Sei-ichiro Watanabe,
- Shoichiro Yokota
Affiliations
- Kiyoshi Kuramoto
- Hokkaido University
- Yasuhiro Kawakatsu
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Masaki Fujimoto
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Akito Araya
- The University of Tokyo
- Maria Antonietta Barucci
- Laboratoire d’Etudes Spatiales Et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique, Paris Observatory
- Hidenori Genda
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Naru Hirata
- Aizu University
- Hitoshi Ikeda
- Research and Development Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Takeshi Imamura
- The University of Tokyo
- Jörn Helbert
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
- Shingo Kameda
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Masanori Kobayashi
- Chiba Institute of Technology
- Hiroki Kusano
- National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology
- David J. Lawrence
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
- Koji Matsumoto
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
- Patrick Michel
- Université Côte d’azur, Observatoire de La Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange
- Hideaki Miyamoto
- The University of Tokyo
- Tomokatsu Morota
- The University of Tokyo
- Hiromu Nakagawa
- Tohoku University
- Tomoki Nakamura
- Tohoku University
- Kazunori Ogawa
- JAXA Space Exploration Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Hisashi Otake
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Masanobu Ozaki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Sara Russell
- Natural History Museum
- Sho Sasaki
- Osaka University
- Hirotaka Sawada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Hiroki Senshu
- Chiba Institute of Technology
- Shogo Tachibana
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Naoki Terada
- Tohoku University
- Stephan Ulamec
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
- Tomohiro Usui
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
- Koji Wada
- Chiba Institute of Technology
- Sei-ichiro Watanabe
- Nagoya University
- Shoichiro Yokota
- Osaka University
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-021-01545-7
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 74,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 31
Abstract
Abstract Martian moons exploration, MMX, is the new sample return mission planned by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) targeting the two Martian moons with the scheduled launch in 2024 and return to the Earth in 2029. The major scientific objectives of this mission are to determine the origin of Phobos and Deimos, to elucidate the early Solar System evolution in terms of volatile delivery across the snow line to the terrestrial planets having habitable surface environments, and to explore the evolutionary processes of both moons and Mars surface environment. To achieve these objectives, during a stay in circum-Martian space over about 3 years MMX will collect samples from Phobos along with close-up observations of this inner moon and carry out multiple flybys of Deimos to make comparative observations of this outer moon. Simultaneously, successive observations of the Martian atmosphere will also be made by utilizing the advantage of quasi-equatorial spacecraft orbits along the moons’ orbits. Graphical Abstract
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