JAXA is now targeting Mars Phobos and will send a spacecraft to test it in 2024. The mission is called the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) and will use a pneumatic vacuum device to collect samples. Why go to Phobos and try it? Because it is an unusual moon and a better understanding of it could answer questions about it and our solar system. And we always want more answers. Remove all ads on Universe Today Register with our Patreon for just $ 3! Gain a lifetime experience without ads Fear is the largest of the two moons of Mars, while the other is Deimos. Both moons have an irregular shape and look like potatoes, especially Phobos. Fovos has an average radius of just 11 km (7 mi). It is closer to Mars than Deimos and orbits just 6,000 km (3,700 miles) above the planet’s surface. It moves fast, takes only 7 hours and 39 minutes to complete one orbit and completes three orbits each day. Much of the surface of Fear is covered with strange linear grooves. New research supports the idea that these iconic grooves were carved out of boulders that exploded free of Stickney Crater (the large pit on the right). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona Phobus is probably an asteroid captured by debris, although astronomers are still debating its nature. It has a lot in common with carbonaceous asteroids and is one of the least reflective objects in the Solar System. The tiny moon is getting closer and closer to Mars. Each year it approaches about 2 cm and will eventually be destroyed. In about 30 million to 50 million years, it will either crash to the surface of Mars and be completely destroyed, or it will be torn apart by tidal forces and form a ring of debris around the planet. In fact, one hypothesis says that the moons of Mars were formed from dust created by a giant impact on Mars. Powder to powder, as they say. An illustration of Mars with a wreck ring. Image credit: SETI Japan is leading the MMX mission, but NASA, CNES (France) and DLR (Germany) are also contributing. It has two general objectives: (1) the determination of the origin of the moons of Mars and (2) the observation of processes in the wandering environment of Mars, based on remote sensing, field observations and laboratory analyzes of returning samples of the Pholite regolith. Scientists believe that a better understanding of the Mars-Fear-Deism system will shed light on the process of planet formation in the Solar System. There are many obstacles to taking a sample from Fear. The moon is not big enough for a spaceship to orbit it in the usual way. Instead, MMX will enter orbit around Mars and then perform almost satellite orbits. These orbits become unstable over time, but should allow several months of operation near Fear. This maneuver also allows the MMX podium to reach the surface of Phobos. JAXA designed the MMX mission with three components: a propulsion unit, an exploration unit and a return unit. The French space agency CNES has suggested that the mission should also develop a tiny rover about the size of a surface microwave oven made in France and Germany. But the highlight of the MMX shipment will be the sample return. We have made tremendous progress in sending instruments to spacecraft, landers and rovers to examine the bodies of the Solar System. When it comes to Mars, field study of the planet has unleashed a flood of new data and knowledge. But the sacred chalice in space missions is still a sign of return. No matter how advanced the instruments we send in missions, laboratory analysis on Earth will always surpass them. MMX will collect samples in two ways. One is the Coring Sampler (C-SMP) developed by JAXA. The other is the Pneumatic Sampler (P-SMP), contributed by NASA and developed by Honeybee Robotics. The pair of samplers will complement each other and partly explain the fact that we do not know what the surface is like. The Coring Sampler will be mounted on the landing gear robotic arm. It will use a special shape memory alloy to collect a sample of 10 grams from a depth greater than 2 cm below the regolith. P-SMP can capture regolith even if the surface is covered with gravel-sized material. (Image: Honeybee Robotics) The Pneumatic Sampler will be placed near the sole of the foot on one of its landing legs. It will use pressurized nitrogen gas to collect samples and shipment operators can handle the gas flow as required. It can be either continuous or pulsed. This is a schematic view of P-SMP with 1. Sampling head, 2. Gas return sample and N2 sample tubes and 3. Sample container control box. (Image: Honeybee Robotics) The P-SMP has three sets of nozzles to perform the process. Two excavation nozzles point down, two retro push nozzles point upwards and two transfer nozzles point towards the sampling tube. The three pairs of nozzles are activated simultaneously. The nozzles of the excavation shoot at the surface of Phobos and mix material from the regolith. The transfer nozzles direct the material to the sampling head. The retro thrust nozzle fires to neutralize the propulsion in the spacecraft, so its position is stable during sampling. Honeybee Robotics has extensively tested its P-SMP and is confident that it can deal with any surprises on the Phobos surface. The company says its system can collect sample even if the gravel covers the surface. MMX will not be the only mission to use Honeybee’s vacuum system. NASA plans to use it on the Moon to capture the lunar regolith at Mare Crisium in 2023. The system is also being considered for a Europa Lander mission and many other missions that are still in the design and planning stages. It is easy to understand why. “The purpose of this technology is to allow simple and inexpensive capture of planetary material from largely unknown surfaces,” said Honeybee’s project manager Kris Zacny. Vacuum cleaners are designed to capture ‘dirt’, so a vacuum cleaner-like approach is ideal for working with planetary ‘dirt’.
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