Showing papers by "Stephan Ulamec published in 2021"
03 Feb 2021
TL;DR: MMX as mentioned in this paper is a sample return mission targeting the two Martian moons with a scheduled launch in 2024 and a return to the Earth in 2029, with the major scientific objectives of this mission are to determine the origin of Phobos and Deimos, elucidate the early Solar System evolution in terms of volatile delivery across the snow line to the terrestrial planets having habitable surface environments, and to explore the evolutionary processes of both moons and Mars surface environment.
Abstract:
Martian moons exploration, MMX, is the new sample return mission planned by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) targeting the two Martian moons with a scheduled launch in 2024 and a return to the Earth in 2029. The major scientific objectives of this mission are to determine the origin of Phobos and Deimos, to elucidate the early Solar System evolution in terms of volatile delivery across the snow line to the terrestrial planets having habitable surface environments, and to explore the evolutionary processes of both moons and Mars surface environment. To achieve these objectives, during a stay in circum-Martian space over about 3 years MMX will collect samples from Phobos along with close-up observations of this inner moon and carry out multiple flybys of Deimos to make comparative observations of this outer moon. Simultaneously, successive observations of the Martian atmosphere will also be made by utilizing the advantage of quasi-equatorial spacecraft orbits along the moons’ orbits.
23 citations
TL;DR: The MASCOT lander was deployed successfully on October 3, 2018 by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft onto the C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu.
20 citations
15 Jan 2021
TL;DR: The Japanese MMX sample return mission to Phobos by JAXA will carry a Rover developed by CNES and DLR that will be deployed on Phobos to perform in-situ analysis of the Martian moon's surface properties as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract:
The Japanese MMX sample return mission to Phobos by JAXA will carry a Rover developed by CNES and DLR that will be deployed on Phobos to perform in-situ analysis of the Martian moon's surface properties. Past images of the surface of Phobos show that it is covered by a layer of regolith. However, the mechanical and compositional properties of this regolith are poorly constrained. In particular nothing is known regarding the particle sizes, their chemical composition, the packing density of the regolith as well as other frictional parameters and surface dynamics from current remote images. Understanding the properties and dynamics of the regolith in the low-gravity environment of Phobos is important to trace back its history and surface evolution. Moreover, this information is also important to support the interpretation of data obtained by instruments onboard the main spacecraft and to minimize the risks involved in the sampling by the spacecraft. The instruments onboard the Rover are an infrared radiometer (miniRad), a Raman spectrometer (RAX), two cameras looking forwards for navigation and science purposes (NavCams), and two cameras observing the flow of regolith around the rover wheels (WheelCams). The Rover will be deployed before the sampling of Phobos' surface by MMX spacecraft and will be the first rover driving on a Martian moon and in a low-gravity environment.
16 citations
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory1, Max Planck Society2, Jet Propulsion Laboratory3, Planetary Science Institute4, Nanjing University5, National Central University6, INAF7, Braunschweig University of Technology8, University of Paris9, University of Grenoble10, University of Alicante11, University College London12, Spanish National Research Council13, Aberystwyth University14, Free University of Berlin15, Aalto University16, Chinese Academy of Sciences17, Aix-Marseille University18
TL;DR: The goal of Project GAUSS (Genesis of Asteroids and evolUtion of the Solar System) is to return samples from the dwarf planet Ceres as discussed by the authors, which is the most accessible candidate of ocean worlds and the largest reservoir of water in the inner Solar System.
Abstract: The goal of Project GAUSS (Genesis of Asteroids and evolUtion of the Solar System) is to return samples from the dwarf planet Ceres. Ceres is the most accessible candidate of ocean worlds and the largest reservoir of water in the inner Solar System. It shows active volcanism and hydrothermal activities in recent history. Recent evidence for the existence of a subsurface ocean on Ceres and the complex geochemistry suggest past habitability and even the potential for ongoing habitability. GAUSS will return samples from Ceres with the aim of answering the following top-level scientific questions:
12 citations
19 Apr 2021
TL;DR: The Phobos observations during the first 1.5 years of the 76 spacecraft's stay around Mars, and the Deimos observations before leaving the Martian 77 system are described.
Abstract: 73 The science operations of the spacecraft and remote sensing instruments for the MMX 74 (Martian Moon eXploration) mission are discussed by the mission operation working 75 team. In this paper, we describe the Phobos observations during the first 1.5 years of the 76 spacecraft's stay around Mars, and the Deimos observations before leaving the Martian 77 system. In the Phobos observation, the spacecraft will be placed in low-altitude quasi78 satellite orbits on the equatorial plane of Phobos and will make high-resolution 79 topographic and spectroscopic observations of the Phobos surface from five different 80 altitudes orbits. The spacecraft will also attempt to observe polar regions of Phobos from 81 a three-dimensional quasi-satellite orbit moving out of the equatorial plane of Phobos. 82 From these observations, we will constrain the origin of Phobos and Deimos and select 83 places for landing site candidates for sample collection. For the Deimos observations, the 84 spacecraft will be injected into two resonant orbits and will perform many flybys to 85 observe the surface of Deimos over as large an area as possible. (166 words) 86
12 citations
Planetary Science Institute1, University of Colorado Boulder2, University of Arizona3, University of Bern4, Ames Research Center5, University of Nevada, Reno6, University of Copenhagen7, California Institute of Technology8, Purdue University9, Search for extraterrestrial intelligence10, Goddard Space Flight Center11, Honeybee Robotics12, United States Geological Survey13, New Mexico State University14, University of California, Los Angeles15, Lowell Observatory16, University of Washington17, Cornell University18, Montana State University19, Southwest Research Institute20, Open University21, Tulane University22, Weizmann Institute of Science23, University of Alberta24, University College Dublin25, University of Chicago26, Icelandic Meteorological Office27, Jet Propulsion Laboratory28, German Aerospace Center29, University of Western Ontario30
Abstract: Smith, Isaac; Hayne, Paul O.; Byrne, Shane; Becerra, Patricio; Kahre, Melinda; Calvin, Wendy; Hvidberg, Christine; Milkovich, Sarah; Buhler, Peter; Landis, Margaret; Horgan, Briony; Kleinböhl, Armin; Perry, Matthew R.; Obbard, Rachel; Stern, Jennifer; Piqueux, Sylvain; Thomas, Nicolas; Zacny, Kris; Carter, Lynn; Edgar, Lauren; Emmett, Jeremy; Navarro, Thomas; Hanley, Jennifer; Koutnik, Michelle; Putzig, Nathaniel; Henderson, Bryana L.; Holt, John W.; Ehlmann, Bethany; Parra, Sergio; Lalich, Daniel; Hansen, Candice; Hecht, Michael; Banfield, Don; Herkenhoff, Ken; Paige, David A.; Skidmore, Mark; Staehle, Robert L.; Siegler, Matthew; Soto, A.; Foss, F.; Lewis, S.; Whitten, J.; Vos, E.; Johnson, P. A.; Johnson, J. C.; Gallagher, C.; Brown, A.; Bertrand, T.; Phillips-Lander, C.; Oliveira, N.; Kite, E.; Thorsteinsson, T.; Tamppari, L.; Hauber, E.; Fanara, L.; Oberst, J.; Ulamec, S.; Cartwright, S.; Harrison, T.; Hibbard, S.; Portyankina, A. and Titus, T. N. (2021). Unlocking the Climate Record Stored within Mars’ Polar Layered Deposits. Bulletin of the AAS, 53(4)
9 citations