Japan aims for the moons of Mars

TANEGASHIMA SPACE CENTER, Aug 16: Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars' moons to retrieve samples that may unlock the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth, although a rival Chinese mission aims to make it back first.

The unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), set to blast off from Tanegashima Space Center in the coming months, could also lay the groundwork for humans visiting the red planet.

The spacecraft, revealed to media last Thursday, will stay in Mars' orbit for around three years and will attempt to land on Phobos.

It will collect at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of material from the surface of Phobos, while the IDEFIX rover -- the French name for comic hero Asterix's dog -- will conduct surface observations.

The spacecraft will also observe Demios, the other of Mars' moons -- but without landing -- before a return capsule heads back to Earth to land in Australia in around 2031.�" AFP