{
  "id": 15386317,
  "title": "Japan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/japan-to-launch-spacecraft-on-a-mission-to-get-samples-from-a-martian-15386317",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T09:00:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261018/p2g/00m/0sc/020000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japan prepares to launch a spacecraft on a historic mission to retrieve samples from Phobos, one of Mars' two small moons. The five-year mission, coordinated by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), aims to unravel the origins of these enigmatic moons and potentially pave the way for future manned missions to Mars. The launch took place on Tuesday using JAXA's new H-3 rocket. Samples from Phobos, which is closer to Mars than its smaller sibling Deimos, are expected to offer valuable insights into the planet's formation and the possibility of microbial life. Japanese scientists plan to collect soil samples from Phobos using both American and Japanese techniques, with a target of obtaining at least 10 grams of material. The mission, which includes a French-German rover named Idefix, will take three years to collect data and gather samples before returning home in 2031.",
  "summary": "TOKYO (AP) -- Japan is set to launch a spacecraft on the world's first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu - Sci-Tech",
        "title": "Japan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/japan-to-launch-spacecraft-on-a-mission-to-get-samples-from-a-martian",
        "published": "2026-10-18T06:15:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}