The German-French Idefix rover to explore the Mars moon Phobos is on its first long journey: it is bound for Japan – the rover is part of the Japanese Mars exploration mission Mars Moons Exploration (MMX). The vehicle, whose construction was completed last July, is expected to arrive in Japan at the end of January. The German Aerospace Center made the announcement Tuesday in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich.

The MMX mission is scheduled to begin in 2026. It will likely take another two years before landing on Phobos. “Idefix” is the little dog that accompanies Obelix in the “Asterix” comics.

With the mission to the Mars moons Phobos and Deimos, the Japanese space agency JAXA wants, among other things, to help solve the mystery surrounding the formation of the moons Phobos and Deimos. It is much smaller than Earth's moon, and due to low gravitational forces, it is not spherical, but rather irregular in shape. The largest diameter of Phobos is about 27 km, while Deimos is only 15 km.

During the mission, “Idefix” was supposed to land on the surface of Phobos for the first time in the history of space travel – and this alone was an enormous challenge, as told in Oberpfaffenhofen.

The vehicle, which weighs just 25 kilograms, was designed and built under the joint command of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the French space agency CNES. » Idefix essentially has all the elements of a full-fledged scientific vehicle, but thanks to its highly integrated structure, it weighs only 25 kilograms. “This is crucial so that it can survive the impact on Phobos unharmed,” explained Markus Greibenstein, project director of the German Aerospace Center.

The vehicle is supposed to explore the surface of Phobos, and the Japanese mother probe is supposed to bring soil samples to Earth. But it's also about taking a closer look at technical issues, such as the rover's movement in these areas.

For safety reasons, the batteries were almost exhausted before being transported to Japan. Experts at Oberpfaffenhofen explained that the first task in Japan will therefore be to charge the batteries in order to maintain their performance. The vehicle's integration into the MMX parent probe in Japan will begin from February 2024.

Japan and France are important partner countries for the German Aerospace Center in almost all areas of research, said Anke Kaiser-Pezala, CEO of the German Aerospace Center. Philippe Baptiste, CEO of the National Center for Space Studies, spoke of an important milestone in the collaboration. (dpa/jad)