日本の探査機「MMX」、火星の月へ出発へ

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya. Today is August twenty-third. Japan is getting ready for an exciting trip into space — a new probe will fly all the way to a moon of Mars, and bring something back. Let's listen.

Now let's break it down, sentence by sentence.

Japan's space agency announced that it will launch its new space probe on October twentieth.

It means to launch — to send a rocket up into the sky.

Mars is the red planet next to the Earth.

It means Mars — the red planet, our neighbor in space.

The probe will leave for space on a big rocket called H3, from Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, in the south of Japan.

It means space, or the universe.

The probe will reach Mars next year. Then it will go down to the moon Phobos and collect sand.

It means sand.

Bringing sand from a moon of Mars back to Earth — this is the first plan of its kind in the world.

It means the Earth — the planet we live on.

The probe is scheduled to come back to Earth in twenty thirty-one.

It means a plan, or a schedule — something decided for the future.

Let's listen to the whole story one more time.

Time for a short quiz. Listen and try to answer.

To Phobos — one of the two moons of Mars.

Sand. It will bring the sand back to Earth so scientists can study it.

In twenty thirty-one — after a long journey of about five years.

That's all for today. A small probe, a very long trip to the moon of Mars — the launch is set for October, and we will be watching. See you next time!