The names of the 10 scientists, of various specialties, who will compose the exploration team of the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. The program is a collaboration between NASA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

JAXA’s MMX mission, scheduled to launch in 2024, will visit Mars’ two moons, Phobos and Deimos. According to the plan, the spacecraft will land on the surface of Phobos and collect a sample from the surface. The return to Earth of the spacecraft with the sample from the land of Fear is expected in 2029.

Seven of the selected scientists will conduct research using the MMX flight instruments. They are:

THE Olivier Barnouin from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, will create high-resolution digital terrain models of Mars’ moons, measuring the properties of surface features and studying the properties of the Phobos regolith through its interaction with the rover.

THE Matteo Crismanifrom California State University, San Bernardino, will study interplanetary dust particles that hit Mars and their role in the formation of high-altitude ice clouds in the Martian atmosphere.

THE R. Terik Daly from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, will look for surface changes on Phobos and Deimos by comparing MMX image data with images from previous missions of the two moons.

THE Christopher Edwards from Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, will apply a thermophysical model to the MMX infrared spectra to map variations in spectral properties and surface roughness between Phobos and Deimos.

THE Abigail Fraeman from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, will combine data from different MMX instruments to learn more about the moons’ compositions and test hypotheses about the sources of puzzling spectral absorptions seen on Phobos.

THE Sander Goossens from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, will use data from the MMX instruments and navigation data from the spacecraft to constrain the moons’ gravity fields, shapes, rotational states, and internal mass distributions.

THE Christine Hartzell from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, will explore the physical properties of Phobos’ surface regolith using rover data to locate clumps of regolith and constrain the forces required to hold them together.

Three of the selected scientists will conduct laboratory analyzes of the samples returned by Phobos. They are:

THE Nicolas Dauphas from the University of Chicago, Illinois, will use mass spectrometer techniques to determine the elemental and isotopic abundances of iron, potassium and other elements and to measure ages using rubidium-strontium dating.

THE Jemma Davidson from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, will use microscopy and mass spectrometry methods to analyze opaque minerals in the Phobos samples to shed light on Phobos’ origin and subsequent alteration history.

THE Daniel Glavin from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, will study amino acids, cyanides, amines, aldehydes, ketones, and hydroxy and monocarboxylic acids using gas and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

In addition to scientists and their teams, NASA is contributing to the Exploration of the Mars Moons with Gamma Ray and Neutron Spectrograph (MEGANE), the Pneumatic Sampler (P-Sampler) technology demonstration, and other technical support.