Japan Is Launching a Mission to Mars Moons and Plans to Bring Samples Home - CNET
An ambitious Mars mission is scheduled to launch Monday afternoon from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, with contributions from NASA, the Martian Moons eXploration mission could be the first to make it all the way to Mars and back.
Not only will the mission send a spacecraft to study the Martian moons, Deimos and Phobos, JAXA and NASA aim to carry home samples from the surface of Phobos. JAXA set up a livestream so you can watch the historic launch, set for 3:41 p.m. ET.
“The samples from MMX will bring forth paradigm-shifting science on the Mars system for generations to come, especially as NASA prepares to send the first humans to Mars,” Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in an announcement.
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