Japan prepares mission to bring samples from Mars's moon Phobos

Japan is preparing to launch its MMX mission to bring samples from Phobos, a moon of Mars, back to Earth. According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), an H-3 rocket will launch the spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 am on Tuesday.

Under the plan, the spacecraft will reach the vicinity of Mars in about a year and orbit Phobos for nearly three years, collecting at least 10 grams of samples. A rover named 'Idefix,' after the dog of the French cartoon character Asterix, will survey the surface to search for a suitable landing site.

Project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu said this would be the world's first mission to collect samples from the Martian system and return them to Earth. Scientists expect the mission to yield new information about the origins of Mars and its moons, the formation of the solar system, and the beginnings of life on Earth.