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Japan launches mission to return samples from Mars moon
The $578 million mission aims to return at least 10 grams of Phobos material and could help explain how Mars’ moons formed.
- On Tuesday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched its flagship H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center carrying the Martian Moons Exploration probe, starting a five-year mission to retrieve samples from Phobos.
- The $US578 million, 5-ton spacecraft aims to retrieve material that could reveal the solar system's origins, an unprecedented challenge as no agency has ever successfully landed on or fetched samples from the Martian moons.
- JAXA will deploy a French-German rover named Idefix to the 22-kilometer-wide Phobos. The rover serves as a "scout for safety," French Space Agency official Julien Baroukh said, prowling the surface for 100 days.
- Flight controllers plan to land the four-legged mothership on Phobos in late 2028 or 2029 to drill and vacuum up at least 10 grams of material before launching back to Earth.
- After studying the twin moon Deimos, the probe will return to the Australian desert in 2031. NASA astrophysicist Tom Statler said, "There's a lot of adrenaline," underscoring the mission's complexity and scientific stakes.
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197 Articles
Japan launches uncrewed space mission to become first to gather samples from Mars' moon Phobos
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft lifted off aboard an H3 rocket before dawn from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan.
·Jerusalem, Israel
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The Franco-German rover "Idefix" is on board and is scheduled to be placed on the Mars moon Phobos in 2029, which has only 27 kilometres in diameter at its widest place. Researchers also hope for insights into the formation of Mars, the solar system and life.
·Vienna, Austria
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The probe is expected to bring samples of Phobos to Earth in 2031.
·Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Spacecraft to collect rocks and sand from Phobos before returning to Earth in July 2031
·Ankara, Türkiye
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources197
Leaning Left53Leaning Right27Center44Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Left
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left
43% Left
L 43%
C 35%
R 22%
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