Japan\u2019s ambitious mission to collect and bring back samples from one of Mars\u2019s moons will lift off on October 20, the space agency announced Thursday.<\/p>\n
The uncrewed Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe, a collaboration with U.S. and European space agencies as well as numerous universities and tech companies, may help unlock the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.<\/p>\n
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the flagship H3 rocket carrying the MMX will blast off from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 a.m. on Oct. 20.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft will stay in Mars\u2019 orbit for around three years and will attempt to land on Phobos, one of the planet\u2019s moons.<\/p>\n
It will collect at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of material from the surface of Phobos, while the rover IDEFIX \u2014 the French name for comic hero Asterix\u2019s dog \u2014 will conduct surface observations.<\/p>\n
The spacecraft will also observe Demios, another Mars moon \u2014 but without landing. A return capsule is meant to head back to Earth and land in Australia in 2031.<\/p>\n
JAXA hopes that the mission will reveal how Mars and its moons formed, a key piece of knowledge in working out how the solar system was born.<\/p>\n
JAXA has said that the mission will also explore the possibility of using Phobos as a \u201cnatural space station\u201d by establishing the technology required for a round trip to Mars \u2014something \u201cessential for crewed Mars exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n
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