0:00
Japan is launching a five-year mission to bring back something no one's ever collected before
0:07
soil from a moon of Mars. The spacecraft is headed for Phobos, one of two small potato-shaped moons
0:14
orbiting the Red Planet. It's expected to arrive at Mars next August, then study Phobos before
0:19
landing to collect at least 10 grams of soil. Scientists hope those samples will finally answer
0:25
a big question. Did Mars capture an asteroid or did the moon form from debris after a massive
0:31
collision? These are asteroids that would have been roaming the solar system that were maybe
0:35
knocked or pulled too close to Mars and then captured into Mars' gravity and then over time
0:41
gradually became into a more stable orbit. The other leading theory is that they are the leftovers
0:47
from a disk of debris that was formed by a giant impact into Mars. And there are some nuances on
0:55
both of those theories, but it's one of the remarkable things that we've not been able to
1:00
answer that question yet. NASA is helping with the mission along with European partners
1:05
And if all goes to plan, those samples will be back on Earth in 2031
