This week, JAXA and NHK announced plans to develop a camera for space that can take ultra high definition images. Two of the new “Super Hi-Vision” cameras will join the suite of instruments onboard the MMX spacecraft to record our journey to the Martian system!
This month, three different Mars probes left for the red planet, including the UAE’s Hope Mars Mission and China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe and rover, with the U.S. Perseverance rover to follow later this week. But why is everyone launching a Mars mission now? Has there been a sudden boom in Mars exploration?
A key question for the Martian Moons eXploration mission is how the two moons of Mars were formed. Competing theories suggest that the satellites are either captured asteroids or that they were formed during a giant impact with the red planet
Have you ever wished you could build your own Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft at home? We felt the same!
Organics have been found in a 4-billion-year-old Martian meteorite, supporting the idea that water once flowed over Mars’s surface. Further hints to the red planet’s habitable past may be collected by the MMX spacecraft, having been deposited on the surface of Phobos during Mars’s history.
This afternoon (19 February 2020), the MMX mission transitioned to become a JAXA Project: an official step in mission development authorised by the Japanese government. The mission was previously in the Pre-Project phase, where the focus was on research and analysis, such as simulating landings to improve spacecraft design. The focus will now move onto the development of mission hardware and software.
After returning the sample capsule to Earth, Hayabusa2 has selected its next destination: the rapidly rotating asteroid, 1998 KY26, with a fly-by past asteroid 2001 CC21. While Phobos has a short rotation period of less than 8 hours, 1998 KY26 rotates in under 11 minutes!
The target for the extended mission that Hayabusa2 will explore after returning the capsule to Earth has reached the final choice: 1998 KY26 is an asteroid ~30m in size with a rotation period of ~10.7 minutes. More information is in the press briefing: https://t.co/vsM0vl7xZ0
Japanese astronaut Noguchi Soichi will stay on the ISS for 6 months. He has issued a ‘6 month challenge’ ask what would you like to achieve in 6 months? At the MMX Project, we would like to undergo a PDR (Preliminary Design Review) and move towards the next mission phase!
【宇宙と交信！？ロマン溢れる新キャンペーン開始】
6ヶ月で達成したいことを投稿した方の中から5名様に、ISS滞在中の野口宇宙飛行士とリアルタイム交信のチャンス！
応募方法は @JAXA_jp をフォローして「#挑戦をやめない」と一緒に達成したいことを投稿するだけ！
▼詳細
https://t.co/oXiFXAAi4B
The last operation for the Hayabusa2 ion engines for the trip back to Earth has been successfully completed! The operation went perfectly, with a speed error of just 0.05mm (millimetres, not meters!). It is a little daunting but we hope we can follow in the steps of such success!
The final ion engine operation for the return trip has been completed as planned! The stop time (fine-tuned to the last minute) was 03:15:45 JST. The ion engine has been a very comfortable ride! https://t.co/Sa9JuSiTjR
Our MMX News site has a short piece on the 4K/8K Super Hi-Vision cameras are being developed by JAXA and NHK to record our journey to the Martian moons in high definition! 📷 📸 Take a look and enjoy the movie all over again. https://t.co/EVWJRWEDFv
