‘Once-in-a-lifetime chance’: Japan launches historic mission to collect rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos
Scientists hope Martian material collected will shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth
TL;DR
- Japan's MMX spacecraft has been launched by the H3 rocket on a mission to Phobos, a moon of Mars.
- The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in August next year and return to Earth in 2031 with samples from Phobos.
- This is the first mission to attempt a landing on Phobos or Mars's other moon, Deimos.
- The mission involves international collaboration, including Nasa, the German Space Agency, and others.
- A rover named Idefix will survey Phobos for 100 days before a stationary lander collects samples.
- Scientists hope the samples will help determine the origin of the Martian moons and shed light on the origins of life and habitable environments on terrestrial planets.
- The mission's findings may also inform future crewed Mars expeditions.