iSB, Go!
What a confusing title for an article! First of all, what is the "SB"? Let's start with this!
What a confusing title for an article! First of all, what is the "SB"? Let's start with this!
We have just held the first international meeting for the MMX* Remote Sensing Consortium. The meeting was held on the 9th and 10th of March, 2018 at Rikkyo University in Tokyo.
Recently, I have become intrigued by civil engineering. On one of my cycle routes through the mountains, there is a point where the road curves and a dam wall becomes visible. There are many different types of dams due to differences such as location, the construction period, the type of material (rock) and available transportation to the site. But in each case, the engineer has done their best to store the largest amount of water with the least amount of effort using the technology obtainable at the time. It is always a result I can appreciate!
There is a myth of a meteorite from Mars that struck a dog when it fell in Egypt in 1911....
It may initially seem premature to worry about the spacecraft’s path and orbit upon arrival at Mars. But the science and engineering goals for the mission are both precise and challenging, frequently requiring the spacecraft to be in a particular location or orientation with respect to Mars, the moons, the Earth or the Sun. As a result, we need to consider our route through Martian space early so that any structural or operational requirements will be reflected in the spacecraft design.
NASA has selected their scientific instrument for the Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) Mission. The US Space Agency called for proposals in March for the design of a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer (GRNS); a top priority instrument for the spacecraft due to its ability to identify the chemical elements that form the Martian moon rock.
We really hope you recognise these missions! Top & bottom are our asteroid explorers, Hayabusa and @haya2e_jaxa. Left is NASA's prospective CAESAR mission for which we'll provide the capsule to return a comet sample safely to Earth. And on the right? IT'S US, @mmx_jaxa_en!
Here is the second mural on the wall of our new visitor centre @ISAS_JAXA. These are all missions to some of the smallest bodies in the Solar System! Which spacecraft can you recognise? (We'll let you know our answers tomorrow)
