JAXA's MMX probe aims to return at least 10 grams from Phobos; NASA funds ion-thruster spheres for Titan's caves; smoke and a low Sun turned August's total eclipse corona gold over Spain.
Science··Midday
JAXA plans to return at least 10 grams from Phobos
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency presented its Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft to the media ahead of a launch from Tanegashima Space Center in the coming months. MMX is to spend about three years in Mars orbit, collect at least 10 grams from Phobos, and return to Australia around 2031, nearly twice what Hayabusa2 brought back from an asteroid at 5.4 grams. French astrophysicist Patrick Michel's IDEFIX rover will be released onto Phobos, while Deimos will be observed from orbit only. The mission will test whether the moon formed in a giant impact or was captured from the outer solar system. Mitsubishi Electric engineer Akinari Uehara says the probe's legs must cushion landing on Phobos's extremely low gravity to keep the craft from tipping over.[1]
NASA backs ion-thruster spheres for Titan's caves
Under a nine-month NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Phase 1 grant, Daniel Drew of the University of Hawaii at Manoa will study SPARK, a family of small flying vehicles moved by solid-state electrohydrodynamic thrusters. The spherical craft are meant to explore the karst caves of Saturn's moon Titan. No flight hardware exists; Phase 1 delivers a public report. Drew says it is unclear whether the vehicles could join NASA's Dragonfly mission targeted for 2028; Phase 2 can run up to two years. Electrohydrodynamic propulsion is quiet and scales down well; by Drew's account its inefficiency means it is not expected to compete with rotors and jet engines on Earth. Ethan Schaler and Jacob Izraelevitz of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Michael Malaska of the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science are taking part.[2]
Smoke turned Spain's eclipse corona gold
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for 17 August shows the corona of the 12 August total solar eclipse in gold rather than its usual white. Rui Santos captured the HDR composite from Benavente, Spain during totality when the Sun sat near the horizon, so its light crossed a long path of air that scattered blue away. Smoke from nearby forest fires acted as a second filter, deepening the gold that remained. A hydrogen prominence on the Sun's left edge kept its bright pink colour. Totality observers usually see a pearly white corona; conditions over Spain shifted the hue this time.[3]
