** Progress in Earth and Planetary Science is the official journal of the Japan Geoscience Union, published in collaboration with its society members.
SPEPS
19. Progress on science and instruments for Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission
Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is the third sample return mission led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) with international collaborations following Hayabusa and Hayabusa 2 missions. The MMX spacecraft is planned to be launched in September 2024, extensively observe Mars and its two moons Phobos and Deimos over 3 years, and collect samples (> 10g) from Phobos, and return to the Earth in 2029. The major scientific objectives of MMX mission are to solve the mystery of origin of Phobos and Deimos, to elucidate the early Solar System evolution in terms of volatile delivery across the snow line to the terrestrial planets having habitable surface environments, and to explore the evolutionary processes of both moons and Mars surface environment. These scientific objectives will be achieved by extensive observations by various instruments, rover exploration on Phobos, and sample analysis. It is a good timing to call for papers about the progress on science for Mars-Martian moons system, and the final status of the instruments and rover for Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission.
Edited by: Kiyoshi Kuramoto, Hidenori Genda, Tomohiro USUI, Nancy L CHABOT
