Phobos-Grunt
Encyclopedia : P : PH : PHO : Phobos-Grunt
Phobos-Grunt (rus. Фобос-Грунт) is a planned Russian sample return mission to Phobos, one of the moons of Mars. It will be the first Russian interplanetary mission since the failed Mars 96 mission.
Its name is derived from two simple characteristics of the mission. "Grunt" is in reference to 'ground' (of which a soil-sample will hopefully be returned to Earth) while "Phobos" is obviously the mission's destination. Phobos-Grunt will also study Mars and its environment, including atmosphere and dust storms, plasma and radiation. Development started in 2001 and the preliminary design was completed in 2004. After that, the selection of scientific instruments will take place. Electric jet propulsion is considered for this mission. Phobos-Grunt is scheduled to be launched in 2009 on a Soyuz launcher.
Mission objectives and studies
- Collect soil samples from Phobos and return them to Earth for scientifc research on Phobos, Mars, and Martian space.
- In situ and remote studies of Phobos (to include analysis of soil samples)
- Monitoring the atmospheric behavior of Mars, including the dynamics of dust storms
- Studies of the vicinity of Mars, to include its radiation environment and plasma and dust
See also
| [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ] Spacecraft to visit the Planet Mars | |
|---|---|
| Flybys: Mariner 4 > Mariner 6 | Mariner 7 | Mars 4 | |
| Orbiters: Mars 2 > Mars 3 | Mariner 9 | Mars 5 | Viking 1 | Viking 2 | Phobos 2 | Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Odyssey | Mars Express Orbiter | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | |
| Landers and Rovers: Mars 2 > Mars 3 | Mars 6 | Viking 1 | Viking 2 | Mars Pathfinder | Spirit rover | Opportunity rover | |
| Future: Rosetta space probe>Rosetta | Phoenix Scout | Phobos-Grunt | Mars Science Laboratory | | ExoMars | Mars 2011 | Astrobiology Field Laboratory | |
External links
- [ESA info page on Phobos-Grunt]
- [Russia prepares a return to Mars] (James Oberg)
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.