Japan Sends Spacecraft Toward Phobos to Collect the First Samples From a Martian Moon
By Emma Carter
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Intro
Japan has launched a spacecraft on a five-year mission to explore Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two small moons, and bring samples back to Earth.
Vocabulary
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ambitious adjective | adjective | Meaning: requiring great effort, skill, or determination to achieve | Example: Building a sustainable city in the desert is an ambitious plan. |
| effort noun | noun | Meaning: an organized attempt to achieve a particular goal | Example: The research team made a serious effort to solve the problem. |
| gravity noun | noun | Meaning: the force that attracts objects toward a planet or other body | Example: The astronaut moved slowly because the moon’s gravity was weak. |
| unexplored adjective | adjective | Meaning: not yet examined, studied, or visited in detail | Example: The researchers mapped an unexplored region of the ocean floor. |
| evidence noun | noun | Meaning: facts or physical information that show whether something is true | Example: The photographs provided evidence of changes in the coastline. |
| origin noun | noun | Meaning: the beginning or source of something | Example: Scientists are still investigating the origin of the unusual signal. |
| useful adjective | adjective | Meaning: helpful for a particular purpose or situation | Example: The survey produced useful information for planning future projects. |
The story
Japan has launched a spacecraft toward Mars on an ambitious mission to explore Phobos, the larger and closer of the planet’s two moons. The project, called Martian Moons Exploration, or MMX, is designed to collect material from Phobos and return it to Earth.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is leading the effort, which brings together five of the world’s space agencies. The spacecraft lifted off before dawn from Tanegashima Island, Japan’s main spaceport. It is expected to reach Mars by late next summer, beginning a complex operation around the Red Planet.
MMX will send a robotic prospector to Phobos, as well as a French-German rover named Idefix. The rover is about the size of a microwave oven. Because Phobos has extremely low gravity, it is designed to bounce across the surface for several minutes before stopping. The spacecraft will also collect dust, soil, and rocks that could eventually be delivered to Earth in 2031.
Phobos is a lumpy, potato-shaped object about 14 miles, or 22 kilometers, across. Although it is close to Mars, it remains largely unexplored. NASA has landed nine spacecraft on Mars, and China completed a landing there in 2021, but no spacecraft has yet landed on Phobos or Mars’ other moon, Deimos.
Scientists hope that samples from Phobos will provide evidence about the origin of Mars’ moons. The material could also improve understanding of how moons in other parts of the solar system formed. Japan has previous experience with asteroid sample-return missions, giving its space agency useful knowledge for this difficult journey. However, the mission still faces years of travel, landing, collecting samples, and returning safely to Earth.
Warm-up questions
- What kinds of information can scientists learn by collecting samples from another world?
- Why might a mission to a small moon be more difficult than it first appears?
Comprehension questions
- What is MMX designed to do?
- Why will the Idefix rover bounce across Phobos?
- When is the spacecraft expected to reach Mars?
- What makes the mission historically unusual?
- What may samples from Phobos help scientists understand?
Opinion questions
- Do you think returning samples to Earth is worth the mission’s long duration and risks? Why or why not?
- Which part of the MMX mission seems most impressive to you, and what makes it impressive?
Further discussion
- How could international cooperation improve the chances of success in space exploration?
- What ethical or practical questions should scientists consider before exploring other moons?
Writing prompt
- Write a short article explaining the MMX mission, its main challenges, and why its results could matter to science.
