Posts by mmx

The MMX Rover mov­ing on Pho­bos (credit: DLR)

The MMX Rover is undergoing tests for landing!

October 6, 2020 mmx
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collaborations

When the MMX spacecraft leaves Earth in 2024 JFY*, it will be carrying a buddy: a rover designed to explore the surface of Phobos. The microwave-sized vehicle is being designed by the German and French space agencies, DLR and CNES. With a mass of approximately 25 kg, the rover must be both lightweight and strong. Its first test will be to survive the drop from the MMX spacecraft to the surface of Phobos, estimated to be a free-fall descent of about 40 to 100 m.

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‘Super Hi-Vision’ cameras for MMX!

September 17, 2020 mmx
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collaborations, instrument, JAXA

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!

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Why is everyone launching a Mars probe now?

Why is everyone launching a Mars probe now?

July 29, 2020 mmx
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engineering

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?

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Will MMX find evidence that Mars once had rings?

Will MMX find evidence that Mars once had rings?

June 24, 2020 mmx
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science

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

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Our MMX papercraft model!

Our MMX papercraft model!

June 9, 2020 mmx
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engineering, fun

Have you ever wished you could build your own Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft at home? We felt the same!

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Could MMX collect organic material from Phobos?

Could MMX collect organic material from Phobos?

May 18, 2020 mmx
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JAXA, science

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.

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Artist impression of the MMX spacecraft. Credit: JAXA.

MMX Mission to proceed to the development phase!

February 20, 2020 mmx
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collaborations, JAXA, science

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.

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The secret story of creating the Lego MMX

The secret story of creating the Lego MMX

October 9, 2019 mmx
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engineering

I am Keisuke Sugawara from JAXA’s Research and Development Department. My research usually focusses on artificial intelligence and support for Earth satellite projects but since last autumn, I have also begun to participate in the MMX project.

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iSB, Go!

iSB, Go!

April 11, 2018 mmx
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collaborations, science

What a confusing title for an article! First of all, what is the "SB"? Let's start with this!

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The first international meeting for the MMX Remote Sensing Consortium

The first international meeting for the MMX Remote Sensing Consortium

April 2, 2018 mmx
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collaborations

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.

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