Japan launched an unmanned spacecraft towards the Martian moon Phobos on Tuesday. This mission is intended to be the first to collect samples from this small rocky body and bring them back to Earth for subsequent study.
The Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched on the H3 rocket before dawn from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan.
The spacecraft is planned to reach Mars in August 2027, and the samples will be delivered to Earth in 2031. JAXA expects that this mission will help shed light on the origin of the two Martian moons and deepen knowledge about the early stages of the Solar System.
Phobos, being the larger of the two moons, orbits Mars three times a day. It has an irregular shape, with dimensions of approximately 27 km by 22 km by 18 km, and it revolves at an altitude of about 6000 km above the surface of Mars.
JAXA's goal is to collect at least 10 grams of material from the surface for analysis on Earth. This launch marked the first interplanetary mission for Japan's H3 rocket. The country's main carrier experienced a major failure during its first flight in 2023 due to a second-stage engine failure, but since then it has conducted a series of mostly successful launches.