Mars-Mond Phobos. (Build: HiRISE, MRO, LPL – U. Arizona – NASA)
In addition to the ongoing Mars mission by NASA and ESA, a Japanese mission wants to examine rock samples from Mars or its moon Phobos for traces of life.
Mars rover perseverance Recently done on the first try, Rock samples from the red planet To remove failed. However, more digging is planned. In cooperation with the Esa Earth Return Orbiter, NASA plans to return the samples to and on Earth by the end of this decade traces of a past life To investigate. Japan’s space agency Jaxa plans to start a similar project soon, but on the Martian moon Phobos.
Japanese spacecraft will fly towards Mars in 2024
One in trade magazine Publish a scientific report Japanese JAXA scientists Ryoki Hyodo and Tomohiro Usui will use the space probe to explore the moons of Mars, which is still in development. According to the plan, the spacecraft is scheduled to leave for Mars in September 2024. About a year later, a landing on Phobos is planned. Must Exploring the moons of Mars Take a sample of ten to 100 grams of soil.
Subsequently, several flights from the second Martian moon Deimos were planned. The samples should reach Earth in 2029. There they will then be examined for possible traces of past life on Mars. In their article, the scientists also detailed why the Japanese space mission took samples directly from Phobos and not from Mars.
Searching for traces of microbiological life
In short: On the surface of the Martian moon, scientists have considered the rocky material that was thrown into space when asteroids collided with Mars and then landed on Phobos or Deimos. These could have traces of microbiological life that was previously possible on Mars.
On the other hand, the presence of water or an atmosphere on Phobos is not suspected. Even if they did not find any traces of life, according to the researchers, samples taken from Phobos and Mars can help solve the question of why there is no longer (no longer) life on Mars, but rather on Earth.
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