From Straight Arrow · · 1m 10s
Japan Launches Historic Mars Moon Mission
Japan's MMX mission aims to bring back first-ever soil samples from Phobos, Mars' moon.
In brief
Japan's MMX mission aims to bring back first-ever soil samples from Phobos, Mars' moon. Japan will launch a mission to collect soil from Phobos, Mars' moon, for the first time in history. Originally reported by Straight Arrow.
Japan prepares Mars moon mission
Japan is preparing to launch a five-year mission to bring back soil from Phobos, one of Mars' moons.
Mission launch schedule
The spacecraft launches Tuesday morning in Japan, Monday afternoon in the United States, expected to reach Mars in August 2027.
Mission goals
Scientists hope the samples will help solve how Phobos formed and shed light on Mars' smaller moon Deimos.
Key scientist statement
Kiyoshi Kuramoto, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's principal investigator, said, 'We can almost certainly come to a conclusion by analyzing soil samples.'
“We can almost certainly come to a conclusion by analyzing soil samples”
Theories on moon origins
One theory suggests Mars captured asteroids, but scientists have yet to explain how Mars kept them in stable orbits.
Mission timeline
The mission will observe Deimos during its final phase and return samples to Earth in 2031.
In short
Japan will launch a mission to collect soil from Phobos, Mars' moon, for the first time in history.
