Japan launches uncrewed spacecraft to collect soil samples from Mars moon

Japan launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a mission to explore the moons of Mars and retrieve soil samples. The Martian Moons eXploration probe lifted off aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. According to Phys.org Space, the rocket was scheduled to blast off at 4:41 a.m. local time on Tuesday, corresponding to 19:41 GMT on Monday. The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, PBS, and Space also reported on the launch. [1][2][5][6][7][8]

The primary objective of the Martian Moons eXploration mission is to gather samples from a Martian moon and return them to Earth. Phys.org Space reported that the spacecraft aims to become the first mission to retrieve samples from one of the moons of Mars. Space specified that the target for the sample-return effort is Phobos. Engineering and Technology Magazine also noted the sample-return goals. [2][4][5][7]

Japanese scientists aim to use the returned samples to better understand the origins of the solar system and how life developed on Earth, Phys.org Space reported. Mars has two natural satellites, Deimos and Phobos. Deimos is the smaller and outer moon, with a mean radius of 6.2 kilometres, orbiting Mars at a distance of 23,457.50 kilometres over a period of 30.3 hours. [2][13]

Japan has a history of robotic planetary exploration dating back to the Hiten spacecraft, which launched on January 24, 1990. Originally designated MUSES-A, Hiten was built by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan. It served as the first lunar probe for Japan and was the first robotic lunar spacecraft launched by any country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. [14]