IT·Science Talk

MMX by the numbers: 10 grams, 3 years, 2031

Since everyone loves a headline, here are the figures from the GONOM post on Japan's Phobos mission, in one place.

Launched 20 October at 4:41am from Tanegashima on the No. 10 H3 rocket. In planned orbit about 1 hour 11 minutes after liftoff. Arrival near Mars around August 2027. About three years in the Martian system. Return to Earth in 2031. Target: at least 10 grams of Phobos material.

What I find notable is the ratio. Roughly seven years of mission for a quantity of dust that would fit in a teaspoon. And yet that's normal for this kind of science: the value is in where it came from, not how much.

The other number worth watching: China's Tianwen-3, launching around 2028, also points to 2031 for bringing Mars material back. Same finish year, very different targets.