Japan's MMX spacecraft is being prepared to do something no mission has done before: take soil from a moon of Mars and carry it home. Phys.org reported on Sunday that the Japanese probe is aimed at Phobos, the larger of the Red Planet's two natural satellites, with the goal of returning collected material to Earth.
Coverage of the plan describes it as a round-trip journey to the Martian moon, and several outlets framed it as the first mission of its kind to gather samples from that body. The Guardian characterized the effort as a world-first attempt to collect material from a Martian moon, while Japan Today described it as a historic round-trip flight.
The reporting places Phobos as the mission's single destination. Phys.org's headline refers to the moon as Mars's moon, and New Scientist identified Phobos as the largest of the planet's moons. Beyond the target and the sample-return objective, the available reports did not detail the launch schedule, spacecraft instruments or the amount of material the probe is meant to collect.
The project has drawn attention from multiple science and general news outlets, including The Conversation and New Scientist, suggesting broad interest in what material from Phobos could reveal. The mission's premise rests on bringing pristine lunar soil back for study on Earth rather than analyzing it remotely.
What to watch next: official announcements on the mission's launch timeline and any updates on the sample-collection and return phases.