Listen again · In Conversation
Japan’s mission to a moon of Mars October 19, 2026 · 3:12 · With Maya and Nora
I’m Maya, and Nora is our columnist for science and the environment. We’re looking at Japan’s planned mission to Phobos, one of Mars’s moons. Nora, what is Japan planning to do, and what is the mission meant to find out?
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Maya Welcome to Slow English FM. This is Science and the Planet, where we explore stories about science and the environment in clear English. I’m Maya, and Nora is our columnist for science and the environment. We’re looking at Japan’s planned mission to Phobos, one of Mars’s moons. Maya Nora, what is Japan planning to do, and what is the mission meant to find out? Nora Japan’s space agency plans to launch a spacecraft called MMX, short for Martian Moons eXploration, to Phobos on an H3 rocket. H3 is the name of the Japanese rocket planned for the launch. The spacecraft is meant to study Phobos and collect samples. Scientists hope those samples will give them clues about how Phobos and Deimos, Mars’s two moons, formed. Maya So this is a sample-return mission. What is the planned journey? Nora The mission is expected to take five years. The spacecraft is planned to reach the Mars region around August 2027. It would then spend three years near and around Phobos, collecting data and samples. The plan is for it to return to Earth in 2031. Maya Why do scientists want samples from Phobos? What is the puzzle about its origin? Nora Scientists do not yet have a settled answer about how Phobos and Deimos formed. One explanation is that they are debris left after a large object struck Mars. Another is that they are asteroids that came from elsewhere. The mission is intended to gather data and material that may help scientists examine these different explanations. Maya When you say asteroids, do you mean objects that formed away from Mars and later came near it? Nora Yes. In that explanation, the moons began as asteroids from elsewhere. The other explanation links them to material from a large impact on Mars. The sample mission could offer clues that help researchers understand which account better fits the moons. Maya And the plan gives the spacecraft three years near Phobos. What does that part of the mission involve? Nora The reported plan is for the spacecraft to fly near and around Phobos, collect data, and gather samples. That makes the mission more than a brief visit: it includes a period of study at the moon before the planned return to Earth. Scientists hope the material brought back will add clues to the question of how both moons formed. Maya So the key point is that Japan has a mission plan, and the science question is still open. Thank you, Nora. That’s Science and the Planet on Slow English FM. Thanks for listening.
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