The Japanese MMX sample return mission to Phobos by JAXA will carry a rover developed by CNES and DLR that will be deployed on Phobos to perform in situ analysis of the Martian moon’s surface properties. Past images of the surface of Phobos show that it is covered by a layer of regolith. However, the mechanical and compositional properties of this regolith are poorly constrained. In particular, from current remote images, very little is known regarding the particle sizes, their chemical composition, the packing density of the regolith as well as other parameters such as friction and cohesion that influence surface dynamics. Understanding the properties and dynamics of the regolith in the low-gravity environment of Phobos is important to trace back its history and surface evolution. Moreover, this information is also important to support the interpretation of data obtained by instruments onboard the main MMX spacecraft, and to minimize the risks involved in the spacecraft sampling operations. The instruments onboard the Rover are a Raman spectrometer (RAX), an infrared radiometer (miniRad), two forward-looking cameras for navigation and science purposes (NavCams), and two cameras observing the interactions of regolith and the rover wheels (WheelCams). The Rover will be deployed before the MMX spacecraft samples Phobos’ surface and will be the first rover to drive on the surface of a Martian moon and in a very low gravity environment. Graphic Abstract
The Japanese MMX sample return mission to Phobos by JAXA will carry a Rover developed by CNES and DLR that will be deployed on Phobos to perform in-situ analysis of the Martian moon's surface properties. Past images of the surface of Phobos show that it is covered by a layer of regolith. However, the mechanical and compositional properties of this regolith are poorly constrained. In particular nothing is known regarding the particle sizes, their chemical composition, the packing density of the regolith as well as other frictional parameters and surface dynamics from current remote images. Understanding the properties and dynamics of the regolith in the low-gravity environment of Phobos is important to trace back its history and surface evolution. Moreover, this information is also important to support the interpretation of data obtained by instruments onboard the main spacecraft and to minimize the risks involved in the sampling by the spacecraft. The instruments onboard the Rover are an infrared radiometer (miniRad), a Raman spectrometer (RAX), two cameras looking forwards for navigation and science purposes (NavCams), and two cameras observing the flow of regolith around the rover wheels (WheelCams). The Rover will be deployed before the sampling of Phobos' surface by MMX spacecraft and will be the first rover driving on a Martian moon and in a low-gravity environment.
<p>The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, Martians Moons eXploration (MMX) mission will investigate the Martian Moons Phobos and Deimos, and return samples from Phobos to Earth. As part of this mission a small (~25 kg) rover, contributed by the Centre National d&#8217;Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), with additional contributions from INTA (Spain) and JAXA, will be delivered to the surface of Phobos. The rover will demonstrate the technology of locomotion on a regolith-covered, low gravity planetary surface. In addition, the rover will provide scientific data on the regolith properties (mechanical, mineralogical and thermal), provide ground truth for the MMX orbiter instruments, give context information for the returned samples, and contribute to reducing the risk of the landing and sampling operations of the MMX mission.</p> <p>In order to achieve these goals, the rover has a small suite of scientific instruments: a Raman spectrometer (RAX) to measure the mineralogical composition of the surface material, a radiometer (miniRAD) to measure the surface brightness temperature and determine thermal properties of both regolith and rocks (if in the field of view), a stereo pair of navigation cameras looking forwards (NAVCam) that will place constraints on the level of heterogeneity of the regolith both in terms of composition and space weathering alteration, and two cameras looking at the interface between wheel and surface (WheelCam). The WheelCams will observe the properties of the regolith compaction and flow around the wheels, and the resulting trenches in order to characterise the mechanical properties of the regolith itself.</p> <p>The MMX rover will be deployed from the main spacecraft from an altitude of less than 100 m above the surface of Phobos. The uprighting and deployment (legs/wheels and solar panels) sequences will be performed automatically once the rover comes to rest on the surface. The rover will then operate for 100 days covering a total distance of several meters to hundreds of meters.</p> <p>The MMX launch is currently planned for late 2024 with the Mars orbit insertion occurring in 2025, and the rover delivery and operations in 2026 or 2027.</p> <p>This presentation will provide an overview of the MMX rover and the expected science return from each of the four instruments.</p>
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