Japan aims for the moons of Mars
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is preparing the Martian Moons eXploration mission to retrieve samples from Phobos. The mission aims to determine the origins of Mars' moons and provide insights into the formation of the Solar System and the development of habitable environments.
Why it matters
Understanding the origins of Martian moons could reveal how water and organic compounds were delivered to inner rocky planets, potentially explaining the conditions necessary for life.
TANEGASHIMA SPACE CENTER, Japan - Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that may unlock the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth, although a rival Chinese mission aims to make it back first.
The unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), set to blast off from Tanegashima Space Center in the coming months, could also lay the groundwork for humans visiting the red planet.
The spacecraft, revealed to media last Thursday, will stay in Mars' orbit for around three years and will attempt to land on Phobos.
READ: From the Moon to Mars: China's march across space
It will collect at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of material from the surface of Phobos, while the IDEFIX rover - the French name for comic hero Asterix's dog - will conduct surface observations.
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