CONNECT WITH US
Tech

Tech

Japan launches historic mission to collect samples from Mars moon Phobos

Business Standard - Technology logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Japan launches historic mission to collect samples from Mars moon Phobos

Home / Technology / Tech News / Japan launches historic mission to collect samples from Mars moon Phobos

Japan's MMX mission will collect at least 10 grams of material from Phobos and return it to Earth by 2031, aiming to resolve how Mars' two moons formed and evolved

An artist’s concept of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft during its Mars’ orbit insertion. The Martian moon Phobos, which MMX will explore and sample, is in the background. (Image: JAXA)

Unis Ahmad Dar New Delhi 3 min read Last Updated : Oct 20 2026 | 12:37 PM IST

Japan has launched a $578 million mission to bring back the first samples from a Martian moon, Reuters reported, in a bid to settle how Phobos and Deimos formed.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft aboard its H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Centre on October 20. The spacecraft is expected to reach the Martian system in August 2027 and return samples to Earth in 2031.

The mission aims to collect at least 10 grams of material from Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two moons. If successful, it will become the first mission to return samples from a Martian moon, giving scientists material they can examine in laboratories on Earth.

Phobos offers scientists a way to investigate the Martian system without attempting the more difficult task of collecting and returning samples directly from Mars.

The moon measures roughly 27 km by 22 km by 18 km and orbits about 6,000 km above Mars.


Source link
Related Topics:Tech

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.