Japan Prepares Mission to Bring Back First Sample From Mars Moon Phobos

Japan is preparing to send the MMX spacecraft to Mars’s two moons in an ambitious mission aimed at returning the first sample from Phobos to Earth.

The mission plan calls for the spacecraft to land on Phobos and collect material from its surface. The samples are scheduled to arrive back on Earth in 2031.

While the journey will take MMX to both Martian moons, Phobos is the target for the landing and sample collection.

Returning material from Phobos would allow researchers to examine it directly on Earth, extending the study of the moon beyond observations made from afar.