Japan launches first-of-its-kind mission to bring back rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos

 JAXA, Japan’s space agency, has launched a groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from Phobos, a moon of Mars. The Martian Moons Exploration mission is designed to bring these samples back to Earth by 2031 for in-depth scientific investigation. Equipped with the Idefix rover, created in collaboration with French and German partners, the mission will conduct a 100-day exploration of Phobos. JAXA, Japan’s space agency, has launched a groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from Phobos, a moon of Mars. The Martian Moons Exploration mission is designed to bring these samples back to Earth by 2031 for in-depth scientific investigation. Equipped with the Idefix rover, created in collaboration with French and German partners, the mission will conduct a 100-day exploration of Phobos.