Japan successfully launches probe in historic Mars moon mission
The spacecraft, due to arrive near Mars around August next year, aims to become the first to retrieve samples from one of its moons.
Japan's H3 rocket successfully launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe on Tuesday morning. The unmanned spacecraft aims to become the first to retrieve samples from one of Mars' moons, potentially providing crucial insights into the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) live streamed the launch, which occurred at 4:41am from Tanegashima Space Center.
Scientists expressed joy and relief after the successful separation of the probe from the H3 rocket. The MMX mission will journey to the Martian system over the next year, orbiting Phobos, one of Mars' moons. A French-German rover called IDEFIX will be the first to travel across Phobos' surface. MMX will collect at least 10 grams of material from the moon's surface during its planned three-year mission.
The mission, a collaboration with US and European agencies, aims to unlock key information about Mars and its moons, which could shed light on how the Solar System was formed and potentially pave the way for human exploration.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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