(にほん)

Japan

(たんさき)

space probe

(かせい)

Mars (planet)

(つき)

month

(しらべる)

to investigate; to survey

(しゅっぱつ)

departure

(うちゅう)

space; universe

(きかん)

agency / organization

(あたらしい)

new

(ロケット)

rocket

(うちあげる)

to launch (a rocket)

(これから)

from now on

(やく)

approximately, about

(いちねん)

one year

(かける)

to build (a bridge)

(ちかく)

nearby

(とぶ)

to fly

(まわり)

surroundings, vicinity

(ふたつ)

two

(ちいさな)

small / little

(ほし)

star

(まわる)

to go around; to turn

(ひとつ)

one (thing)

(フォボス)

Phobos (moon of Mars)

(おりる)

to come down, descend

(ひょうめん)

surface

(すな)

Sand

(いし)

stone

(あつめる)

to collect

(そして)

and; and then

(ちきゅう)

Earth, the globe

(もつ)

to have; to hold

(かえる)

to return home

(けいかく)

plan

(けんきゅうしゃ)

researcher

(どのように)

how, in what way

(できる)

to be able; to be made

(みず)

water

(れきし)

history

(わかる)

to understand, be clear

by means of / using

Particle で indicating means or instrument. 宇宙船で means 'by spaceship.' パラシュートを使って is a related expression.

until / as far as

Indicates an end point in space or time. Here it expresses how far the balls flew.

to go on doing / continue to (from now)

In '増えていく' – 'will continue to increase (into the future)'. Indicates continuing trend going forward.

plan to / is scheduled to

Indicates a scheduled plan or intent.

in order to ~

Dictionary form + には indicates a condition required to achieve a goal. To deliver nengajō on Jan 1, you must mail by Dec 25.

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

and (non-exhaustive list)

や lists representative examples — Shikoku and Kyushu among other regions (四国や九州).

polite copula / is, am, are

Describes states such as the mother panda being healthy and the baby being small.

plural suffix for people

高校生たち, 先生たち and 人たち mean groups of students, teachers and people.

embedded question (whether/how ~)

どうしていくのか、まだわかりません: it is not yet known how (the world) will proceed.

want to ~

Verb stem + たい to express desire.

to think/consider that ~

Expresses thought or opinion. 問題だと考えています means 'consider it a problem'.

if / when (natural consequence)

Conditional と indicating a natural or expected result. 一緒に捨てると…火が出て means 'if you throw them away together, fire starts.'

about / regarding / concerning

Used to indicate the topic of discussion or consideration. Here it introduces the topic the team will think about.

also / too

Used in '心配する人もいます' — there are ALSO people who are worried (in addition to happy people).

might, maybe, possibly

Expresses possibility or uncertainty. Attached directly to the plain form of verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Less certain than でしょう.

日本の探査機が火星の月を調べに出発

Japanese probe sets off to study the moons of Mars

日本の宇宙機関は、新しい探査機をロケットで打ち上げました。

Japan's space agency launched a new probe on a rocket.

探査機は、これから約一年かけて火星の近くまで飛んでいく予定です。

The probe is scheduled to fly to the vicinity of Mars over about a year from now.

火星のまわりには、二つの小さな星が回っています。

Two small moons go around Mars.

探査機はその一つの「フォボス」に下りて、表面の砂や石を集めます。

The probe will land on one of them, Phobos, and collect sand and rocks from its surface.

そして、それを地球に持って帰る計画です。

Then the plan is to bring them back to Earth.

研究者たちは、フォボスがどのようにできたのかを調べたいと考えています。

Researchers want to find out how Phobos was formed.

持って帰った砂や石を調べると、火星や地球の水の歴史についても、新しいことが分かるかもしれません。

By studying the sand and rocks brought back, we may also learn new things about the history of water on Mars and Earth.