The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is planning to launch a spacecraft on Tuesday that will journey to Phobos and back in about five years, collecting the first-ever rock and soil samples from a moon of Mars.
\n\nAccording to Kawakatsu Yasuhiro, project manager for the Martian Moons Exploration Mission (MMX), the Phobos mission will provide valuable information about the formation of the solar system, offer a glimpse into the origins of life, and possibly pave the way for using Phobos as a base for a manned mission to the surface of Mars.
\n\n“Despite their potential importance, Martian moons have never been fully investigated. They are known as the most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system,” he said.
\n\nPhobos is the larger of the Martian moons, the other being named Deimos. Both of these moons are tiny compared to Earth’s Moon, and they orbit the planet more closely and at higher speeds. Phobos is only 17 miles across at its widest point, and it completes its orbit around Mars three times a day. Almost half of its surface is covered by a single immense crater, known as Stickney Crater, created long ago by a meteoric impact that nearly shattered the…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/tech/
