Japan launches MMX mission to bring back samples from Mars’ moon phobos
In a stellar step forward for planetary science, Japan successfully launched a spacecraft on October 19th, headed for the mysterious moons of Mars. The mission aims to collect soil samples and bring them back to Earth for the first time in history.
The Martian Moons eXploration mission, known as MMX, lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center aboard Japan’s H3 rocket at 3:41 p.m. EDT.
Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), this five-year, $578 million international effort brings together partners from NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and the European Space Agency in a shared quest to unlock secrets of our solar system.
The roughly 5-ton spacecraft is expected to arrive at Mars by late summer 2027, where it will closely study the planet’s two small, potato-shaped moons — Phobos (about 14 miles or 22 km across) and the even smaller Deimos. Then it will attempt something never done before: landing on Phobos to gather samples of its surface.
Scientists are eager to understand how these curious moons formed. Were they created from debris after a giant impact on Mars, or are they asteroids captured long ago? The samples could finally settle the debate.
To help navigate Phobos’ challenging terrain and extremely low gravity, the mission carries a small French-German rover named Idefix. This microwave-sized, 4-wheeled scout will be released first to explore ahead, bouncing carefully across the surface at speeds measured in millimeters per second to identify a safe spot for the main spacecraft to touch down.
The lander is designed to spend only about 2 hours on the surface, using both Japanese and NASA-contributed tools to drill and vacuum up at least 10 grams of material before returning to orbit.
After additional observations — including flybys of Deimos — the MMX probe is scheduled to depart the Martian system in 2030 and deliver its sample capsule to the Australian desert in 2031. If successful, it will mark the first time humanity has brought home material from any moon other than our own.
