Japan launches mission to Mars to bring back samples from one of its moons

Japan has launched a spacecraft towards Mars. The mission aims to bring samples back to Earth from the largest of the planet's two moons.

Sky News describes the project as ground-breaking. Returning material from a Martian moon would let researchers study it directly on Earth rather than relying only on remote observation.

The source gives no further details, such as the exact launch time, when the spacecraft is due to reach Mars, or when the samples might come back. Those questions remain open until more information is available.