Japan to launch world-first mission to moon of Mars

Japanese scientists will launch a spacecraft on Tuesday that aims to be the first to retrieve samples from one of Mars's moons, potentially helping unlock the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth.

The flagship H3 rocket carrying the unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe is set to blast off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41am (1941 GMT Monday), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

If successful, the spacecraft will arrive near Mars around August next year, where it will orbit one of its moons, Phobos.

It will later land on Phobos and collect at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of material from the surface during its planned three years in the Red Planet's vicinity.

The mission -- which aims to be the first round trip to the Martian region -- is a collaboration with US and European space agencies, as well as numerous universities and tech companies.

Those involved hope that it will help lay the groundwork for eventual human exploration.

JAXA hopes the mission will reveal how Mars and its two moons formed, a key piece of knowledge in working out how the Solar System was born.

One theory for the origin of the moons -- the "giant impact" hypothesis -- is that they formed after a celestial body collided with Mars.

The "capture" hypothesis, meanwhile, postulates that the moons are asteroids pulled in by Mars's gravity.

Determining which theory is correct will help reveal "how a habitable environment for life might have arisen on the terrestrial planets", JAXA said, referring to the four rocky worlds closest to the Sun -- Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

'Natural space station'

JAXA said the mission will also explore the possibility of using Phobos as a "natural space station" by establishing the requirements for a round trip -- something "essential for crewed Mars exploration".

It will also observe the planet's other moon, Deimos, although it will not land on it.

The US and Chinese space agencies have also been vying to be the first to return rock samples from Mars's surface back to Earth.

NASA's Perseverance rover, which has been roaming across Mars since 2021, has already collected samples.

The return mission, however, was effectively cancelled by the administration of President Donald Trump following a vote by Congress in January.

China's Tianwen-3 spacecraft is scheduled for launch around 2028 and hopes to return Mars samples to Earth as early as 2031 -- potentially before the Japanese mission's return.