Japan’s USD350M Mission to Land on Mars Moon Launches Tuesday
(MENAFN) Japan will launch a groundbreaking space mission on Tuesday to retrieve samples from a moon of Mars and return them to Earth, a state broadcaster reported Sunday.
The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe will lift off from Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. If it succeeds, it will be the first spacecraft in history to land on Mars’ moon Phobos, gather material from its surface and bring it back to Earth.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency led development of the three-module spacecraft, at a total cost of 55.3 billion yen, or nearly $350 million.
The exploration module is equipped with sampling hardware, a range of observation instruments and two super high-definition cameras.
MMX is expected to arrive in the vicinity of Mars roughly one year after launch, followed by three years of observations. The return module is projected to deliver the samples to Earth during the fiscal year ending in March 2032.
The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe will lift off from Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. If it succeeds, it will be the first spacecraft in history to land on Mars’ moon Phobos, gather material from its surface and bring it back to Earth.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency led development of the three-module spacecraft, at a total cost of 55.3 billion yen, or nearly $350 million.
The exploration module is equipped with sampling hardware, a range of observation instruments and two super high-definition cameras.
MMX is expected to arrive in the vicinity of Mars roughly one year after launch, followed by three years of observations. The return module is projected to deliver the samples to Earth during the fiscal year ending in March 2032.
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