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Japan to launch world-first mission to collect samples from Martian moon

The Guardian UK Sunday 18 October 2026, 08:11 UTC By Associated Press 1 min read
Key Points

Japanese space agency leading five-year mission to Phobos, one of ‘most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system’Japan is to launch a spacecraft on the world’s first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars. Scientists hope the mission, which is expected to take five years, will provide clues to how Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos formed, and hopefully even shed light on the origins of life in the solar system.

Japanese space agency leading five-year mission to Phobos, one of ‘most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system’

Japan is to launch a spacecraft on the world’s first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars.

Scientists hope the mission, which is expected to take five years, will provide clues to how Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos formed, and hopefully even shed light on the origins of life in the solar system.

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Japan (LOCATION) Martian (ORG) Japanese (ORG) Phobos (LOCATION) system’Japan (ORG) Mars (LOCATION) Deimos (PERSON)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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