ScienceMission launches from Japan to collect a sample from Mars’s moon

A spacecraft has launched from Japan toward Phobos, one of Mars’s moons, aiming to collect dust and return it to Earth. If successful, it would be the first sample from Mars or its moons brought back for laboratory analysis. The craft is due to reach Phobos in August 2027. Japan’s space agency-led MMX mission hopes to solve how the Martian moons formed.