Japan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon

October 18, 2026 11:24 AM

Japan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon

Japan is set to launch a spacecraft on the world's first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars. Scientists hope the mission, which is expected to take five years, will provide clues to how Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos formed, and hopefully even shed light on the origins of life in the solar system. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's launch of the spacecraft Tuesday on a new Japanese mainstay H-3 rocket comes as the Uni...

Astronaut Shubhanshu urges students to aspire for ‘landing on moon by 2040’

August 25, 2025 2:54 PM

Astronaut Shubhanshu urges students to aspire for ‘landing on moon by 2040’

Astronaut and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Monday encouraged school students to strive for the vision of landing on the moon by 2040. In his speech during the felicitation ceremony at his alma mater, City Montessori School in Lucknow’s Gomtinagar, Shukla said that the only thing required to succeed is "perseverance".  "In my experience, I think the future is extremely bright. We are at the right time, the right opportunities exist…," he said. Shukla further urged the student to "as...