ScienceThe Guardian‘Once-in-a-lifetime chance’: Japan launches historic mission to collect rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos
Japan has launched a spacecraft on a historic mission to collect rock samples from Mars's moon Phobos, with results expected back on Earth in 2031.
Scientists hope Martian material collected will shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth
Japan's MMX spacecraft launched successfully from Tanegashima island on a mission to collect rock samples from Phobos, one of Mars's two small moons.
The $578 million spacecraft is expected to reach Mars's orbit in August next year and return at least 10 grams of soil to Earth by 2031.
Scientists from five space agencies hope the Martian moon material will shed new light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.
The mission is a five-agency collaboration costing $578 million, aiming to collect at least 10g of Phobos soil to study the origins of the solar system.
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