# Japan launches spacecraft to explore Mars’ moons and return samples

https://mins.news/en/video/107315

- The Associated Press, 2026-10-20 04:38 UTC
- Science
- Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGqqlogBYcw

> Japan has sent a spacecraft on a five-year mission to study Mars’ two moons and bring back material from Phobos, the larger one. Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the mission plans to land a robotic prospector and rover there. If successful, dust, soil and rock samples will reach Earth in 2031.

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