Dhaka, Oct. 18 -- Japan is preparing to launch the world's first mission to collect samples from Phobos, one of Mars's two moons, in a five-year effort to uncover how the moons formed, The Guardian reports.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to launch the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission on Tuesday aboard an H3 rocket.

The spacecraft is expected to reach the Mars region in August 2027 and return to Earth in 2031.

"Despite their potential importance, Martian moons have never been fully investigated," project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu said, describing them as "the most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system", according to the report.

Scientists are debating whether Phobos and Deimos formed from debris...