Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the mission involves five international space agencies and aims to explore Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons. If successful, samples of dust, soil and rock will return to Earth in 2031, advancing research into planetary formation and future exploration.

The $578 million Martian Moons Exploration mission includes a French-German rover named Idefix, which will explore Phobos for approximately 100 days.

A Japanese lander will then collect at least 10 grams of material before returning to orbit. The spacecraft will also study Mars’ second moon, Deimos, before departing in 2030, with the samples scheduled to land in Australia the following year.

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