Japan Plans To Send Spacecraft To Phobos

Japan to sample Phobos (Scitechdaily)

JAKARTA - Japan will send its spacecraft to the Mars satellite, Phobos in 2024. The shipment is intended to take soil samples in 2029. The information was conveyed by the national television station NHK.

According to Sputnik News, Japan has prepared a medium-term report on space policy on Tuesday, June 29. Japan Aerospace Exploration (JAXA) plans to examine one of the satellites of the Mars Planet in 2024.

The mission is expected to bring soil samples that have been collected from Phobos back to Earth for further research in the years to come.

Not only that, but JAXA also plans to develop a disaster warning system that utilizes small satellites so that the Japanese government can know directly if there is an impending disaster.

Previously, Japan had taken samples from the surface of the asteroid Ryugu. This happened in December 2020. JAXA managed to bring black sand dust into the capsule of the spacecraft Hayabusa2.

Japan launched Hayabusa2 in 2014 to pick up material for the asteroid Ryugu twice before returning to Earth. JAXA has entered into a spaceflight competition currently dominated by the United States with NASA and private companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.

In addition, China has repeatedly shocked the world by flying a number of its spacecraft, including to Mars. Russia with its Roscosmos also enlivens the space rocket competition.