Japan is launching a spacecraft to collect samples from the Martian moon Phobos and bring them back to Earth

Japan is launching a spacecraft to collect samples from the Martian moon Phobos and bring them back to Earth

In what could be the first space mission of its kind, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency wants to collect samples from the surface of Phobos, the largest of the two Martian moons, and bring them back to Earth for analysis. The unmanned vehicle was launched on Tuesday aboard an H3 rocket, and is expected to reach Mars in August 2027, before returning with samples in 2031. The purpose of the mission is to reveal the origin of the two moons of the red planet and deepen the understanding of the early stages of the formation of the solar system.

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