NASA prepares role in JAXA mission to Mars moons Phobos and Deimos

What happened

NASA says its instruments will contribute to Japan's Martian Moons eXploration mission, designed to study Phobos and Deimos and return a sample from Phobos.

Context and what is known

The mission targets a launch in October. The science goal is to help determine whether the moons were captured asteroids or formed through a major collision.

Understanding the research

Mars's moons provide clues about the history of impacts and small bodies in the solar system. International instruments on a mission may contribute different measurements, but that does not mean each partner is operating the entire spacecraft. Readers should distinguish the spacecraft operator, the planned observations and the role of a contributed NASA instrument as the mission develops.

Reporting source

NASA — original reporting