JAXA plans to collect sample from Martian moon

Aug 20, 2021 | News On Japan

Aug 20, 2021 (NHK) - Japan's space agency JAXA says it aims to bring back to Earth up to 10 grams of sand from the surface of a Martian moon, by a probe to be launched in 2024.

JAXA officials announced the details of the planned project during an online news conference on Thursday.

Under the project, called Martian Moons eXploration, or MMX, a probe is to land on the moon Phobos and carry surface samples back to Earth in 2029.

JAXA officials say around 0.1 percent of the surface sand on Phobos is believed to have come from Mars, raising the possibility that the samples will contain substances that originated on the planet.

Researchers say they will examine whether the samples contain organic substances derived from living things or other evidence that life existed on Mars.

Phobos is one of Mars's two moons, and orbits 9,000 kilometers from the planet.

JAXA's targeted 10 grams of surface samples is twice the amount brought back by another JAXA probe, Hayabusa2, from the surface of an asteroid in December 2020.

MMX Project Manager Kawakatsu Yasuhiro says the project is based on expertise that JAXA has accumulated through years of asteroid exploration efforts.

He says the mission would be the first ever to bring back samples from the Martian system.

Source: JAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.