PDS_VERSION_ID = PDS3 RECORD_TYPE = STREAM LABEL_REVISION_NOTE = "2012-12-07, C. Acton, initial; 2012-12-11, B. Semenov, phase updates; 2012-12-12, C. Acton, a few small tweaks; 2013-01-25, C. Acton, several updates " OBJECT = MISSION MISSION_NAME = "PHOBOS-SOIL" OBJECT = MISSION_INFORMATION MISSION_START_DATE = 2011-11-08 MISSION_STOP_DATE = 2012-01-15 MISSION_ALIAS_NAME = "PHSRM" MISSION_DESC = " Mission Overview ================ The Phobos-Soil spacecraft (also known as Phobos-Grunt and Phobos Sample Return) was launched from the Baikonur Launch Complex on 08 November 2011 UTC (09 November 2011 Moscow Time) aboard a Zenit-2SB40 launch vehicle. Deployment of the solar panels was successful and a small amount of telemetry was received. Due to unknown problems the spacecraft did not achieve injection into Mars transfer orbit and communication with the spacecraft in its low earth orbit could not be re-established. Several national agencies and amateurs were enlisted to track and observe the vehicle in hopes of re-gaining control. Skin tracking was successful and several images of the vehicle were obtained, but the Russian Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) was unable to re-establish communication. The vehicle re-entered earth's atmosphere on 15 January 2012 and apparently crashed in the Pacific Ocean. No sightings of the re-entry or finding of debris were announced. Mission Phases ============== The Phobos-Soil Mission (also known as Phobos Sample Return Mission, PHSRM) was to be divided in time into several phases: Launch, Cruise to Mars, Initial Mars Orbit and YH-1 vehicle separation, Phobos Observation Orbit, Phobos Quasi-Synchronous Orbit, Landing and Surface Operations, and Sample Return. The mission profile was revised several times during the development stage; the mission phases shown below are derived from the last available trajectory plan obtained from the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics. All but the launch date are approximate dates. LAUNCH ------ Launch into Earth parking orbit occurred on 08 NOV 2011 UTC (09 NOV 2011 Moscow time). This was to be followed by an intermediate orbit and injection into cruise to Mars. Mission Phase Start Time : 2011-11-08 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2011-11-09 CRUISE ------ Cruise was to last approximately five months. Mars arrival was to be between 25 August and 26 September 2012. Mission Phase Start Time : 2011-11-09 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2012-09-11 INTERMEDIATE ORBIT ------------------ The initial Mars orbit, called the Intermediate Orbit, would have a period of about 3 days and an inclination to Mars equator of about 30 degrees to satisfy a constraint by the ride-along small Chinese spacecraft, Yinghuo-1 (YH-1). This small craft would have been released from the cruise stage during the Intermediate Orbit. The spacecraft would stay in the initial Intermediate Orbit for 10 to 20 days. Mission Phase Start Time : 2012-09-11 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2012-10-08 PHOBOS OBSERVATION ORBIT ------------------------ After the Intermediate Orbit, the spacecraft would be placed into the Phobos Observation Orbit, an orbit in the Phobos orbit plane with a semi-major axis 500 km greater than the Phobos orbit. Mission Phase Start Time : 2012-10-08 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2013-01-14 QUASI-SYNCHRONOUS ORBIT ----------------------- A trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) of 30 m/s would be performed to place the spacecraft into a quasi-synchronous orbit around Phobos, staying within 30 to 50 km of Phobos. The quasi-synchronous orbit period would be less than the period of Phobos. Mission Phase Start Time : 2013-01-14 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2013-02-14 LANDING AND SURFACE OPERATIONS ------------------------------ The planned landing site at Phobos was a region from 5 S to 5 N, 230 to 235 E. Soil sample collection would begin immediately after the lander touched down on Phobos. A robotic arm would have collected samples up to 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) in diameter. At the end of the arm was a pipe-shaped tool which split to form a claw. The tool contained a piston which would have pushed the sample into a cylindrical container. A light-sensitive photo-diode would have confirmed whether material collection was successful and also allowed visual inspection of the digging area. The sample extraction device would have performed 15 to 20 scoops yielding a total of 3 to 5.5 ounces (85 to 160 g) of soil. The samples would be loaded into a capsule which would then be moved inside a special pipeline into the descent module by inflating an elastic bag within the pipe with gas. Because the characteristics of Phobos soil are uncertain, the lander included another soil-extraction device, a Polish-built drill, which would have been used in case the soil turned out to be too rocky for the main scooping device. The collection period would last 2 to 7 days. After the departure of the return stage with the sample capsule the lander's experiments would have continued in situ on Phobos' surface for 5 months. To conserve power, mission control would have turned these on and off in a precise sequence. The robotic arm would have placed more samples in a chamber that would heat it and analyze its emission spectra. This analysis might have been able to determine the presence of volatile compounds, such as water. Mission Phase Start Time : 2013-02-14 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2013-08-15 SAMPLE RETURN ------------------------------------------ The return vehicle would lift off Phobos in August 2013 into a Mars parking orbit, depart the parking orbit to Earth in September 2013, return to Earth between 15 and 18 August 2014, and land in the deserts of Kazakhstan. Mission Phase Start Time : 2013-08-15 Mission Phase Stop Time : 2014-08-15 " MISSION_OBJECTIVES_SUMMARY = " Phobos-Soil was an interplanetary probe that included a lander to study Phobos and a sample return vehicle to return a sample of about 160 grams 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). " END_OBJECT = MISSION_INFORMATION OBJECT = MISSION_HOST INSTRUMENT_HOST_ID = "PS" OBJECT = MISSION_TARGET TARGET_NAME = { "PHOBOS", "MARS" } END_OBJECT = MISSION_TARGET END_OBJECT = MISSION_HOST OBJECT = MISSION_REFERENCE_INFORMATION REFERENCE_KEY_ID = "UNK" END_OBJECT = MISSION_REFERENCE_INFORMATION END_OBJECT = MISSION END