Japan set to launch mission to bring back samples from Mars moon Phobos

TOKYO: The Japanese space agency hopes to learn more about a moon of Mars through a historic mission.

According to foreign media reports, Japan is reportedly planning to launch the world’s first space mission to bring back samples to Earth from Phobos, one of the two small moons of Mars.

The mission is expected to take about five years to complete. It will help scientists learn how Phobos and its smaller companion, Deimos, came into being. It is also hoped to provide important information about the origin of life in the solar system.

According to a British newspaper, JAXA, Japan’s space research agency, intends to launch the spacecraft on Tuesday on its new H3 rocket. It will return to Earth in 2031.

Aim of the mission

Yasuhiro Kawakatsu, project manager of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, said the samples from Phobos would help scientists assess whether a moon of Mars could be used as a base to send humans to the planet in future.

He said that despite their potential importance, the moons of Mars have not yet been fully studied. Japan is leading the international mission. The US space agency NASA and the space agencies of other countries are providing instruments and communications support.

Dozens of space missions have been sent towards Mars since the 1960s, but its moons remain largely a mystery. Several Russian attempts to land a spacecraft on Phobos have failed, including a mission launched in 2011.