Raumfahrt: Japan holt Proben vom Marsmond – mit deutschem Rover „Idefix“ an Bord

Tokyo and Bremen - Markus Grebenstein, the project leader from Germany, writes on Tuesday about a historic moment in space as the Japanese space agency Jaxa prepares to launch the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe, heralding the first inbound and outbound flight to the Martian system ever. The mission aims to bring soil samples from the Martian moon Phobos back to Earth.

Aboard the mission is the rover Idefix, a joint production of Germany's DLR (German Aerospace Center) and France's CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales). The rover's job is to investigate the landing site for the actual lander. Project leader Grebenstein is now eagerly awaiting the launch at the space center on the island of Tanegashima.

"It's an opportunity that only comes around once in a lifetime," he tells the Handelsblatt, "we are there as the first when the Japanese retrieve samples from the Martian system." More than that, the German-French co-production will be the first space vehicle to land on a Martian moon, further opening the door to one of the most important emerging space markets worldwide.