Russia Sets its Sights on Phobos

Russia is finally getting back into the game - the interplanetary space exploration game, that is.  Next month, Russia is set to launch their first interplanetary probe in 15 years.  And if all goes according to plan, it promises to be an extraordinary mission.  The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft consists of a lander that also acts as an orbiter.  Once in Martian orbit, the spacecraft will study both Mars and Phobos for several months, and after a suitable landing place has been found, it will descend to the surface of Phobos.  Once there, it will conduct a thorough scientific investigation of the surface and then collect a soil sample, seal the sample in a return capsule, and blast it back to Earth.  A sample return mission has never been attempted for Mars or either of its moons, so this is really an ambitious and exciting mission.

The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft.

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos.  Both are tiny, and are thought to be asteroids that were captured by Mars's gravity.  By contrast, our own Moon was most likely formed when a planetoid object collided with the early Earth, and the debris coalesced into the Moon.  A soil sample from Phobos will undoubtedly confirm the asteroid-capture theory.

Phobos as seen from the Mars Express spacecraft (ESA).

Russia's last interplanetary mission, Mars 96, ended in complete disaster.  Planned to be an orbiter and two landers, Mars 96 failed to escape Earth orbit, and burned up over the Pacific.  If Phobos-Grunt can succeed, it will certainly be a feather in the cap of Russia's space agency, and a leap forward in our understanding of how the Mars system formed.  France's space agency, CNES, is partnering with Russia on Phobos-Grunt, and has contributed some of the scientific instrumentation aboard the spacecraft.

Artist's rendition of Phobos-Grunt lander with sample return capsule detached at top.

Along for the ride with Phobos-Grunt is a small, Chinese satellite, named Yinghou-1.  It will be China's first spacecraft to the Red Planet.  It will be released into Martian orbit, and have a scientific mission to study the Martian gravitational and magnetic fields for about a year.

Read what NASA has to say about Phobos-Grunt, here.