Mars' moon Phobos could be the target for a technology trial that would seek to return rock samples to Earth. A UK team is developing a concept mission that aims to land a spacecraft on the potato-shaped object and grab material off its surface. These small rock fragments would then be despatched to Earth in a capsule. "It is being seen as a technological demonstrator for an eventual Mars sample return," said Dr Andrew Ball from the Open University. Those aspects of the mission that worked well could be incorporated into a full-scale assault on the Red Planet. Both Europe and the US have made the objective of bringing back Martian rocks to Earth laboratories a top priority for their space programmes. A joint venture is likely to occur within the next 15-20 years. But getting on and off a large planet will be extremely difficult, and the British satellite manufacturer Astrium is proposing to test the required technologies on the low-gravity target of Phobos first. "It would be a three-year mission. We're looking at a 2016 launch," said Marie-Claire Perkinson, a principal mission systems engineer at the Stevenage company. Even so, the Phobos concept has a number of challenging steps, all of them capable of killing the mission if a single element goes wrong. It is envisaged that a "mothership", powered by an ion engine, would fly into orbit around Mars where it would release a lander craft down on to the surface of the moon. This robot vehicle might do some in-situ experiments but its main task would be to core, drill, or scoop up surface "soil" into a sealed vessel. Then, it would lift off from Phobos using chemical thrusters to attempt to dock with, or be captured by, the passing mothership. If that succeeds, the sample vessel would be transferred across and packaged inside an additional bio-secure sealed-container ready for the trip home.
View: Full Article | Source: BBC News
great. They should put a comment on the side of it saying: 'i am the only gay on this moon' (little britain) 
