Objectives
Fobos-Grunt was an intended interplanetary probe that included a lander to study Phobos and a sample return vehicle to return a sample of about 200 g (7.1 oz) of soil to Earth. It was also to study Mars from orbit, including its atmosphere and dust storms, plasma and radiation.
- Science goals
- Delivery of samples of Phobos soil to Earth for scientific research of Phobos, Mars and Martian vicinity;
- 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, including its radiation environment, plasma and dust;
- Study of the origin of the Martian moons and their relation to Mars;
- Study of the role played by asteroid impacts in the formation of terrestrial planets;
- Search for possible past or present life (biosignatures);
- Study of the impact of a three year interplanetary round-trip journey on extremophile microorganisms in a small sealed capsule (LIFE experiment).
Read more about this topic: Fobos-Grunt
Famous quotes containing the word objectives:
“Along the journey we commonly forget its goal. Almost every vocation is chosen and entered upon as a means to a purpose but is ultimately continued as a final purpose in itself. Forgetting our objectives is the most frequent stupidity in which we indulge ourselves.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)