Japan’s MMX probe to launch Oct 20 for Mars moon samples
Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe will launch on October 20, aiming to bring back the first samples from one of Mars’s moons.
The JAXA spacecraft will lift off aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 am local time. It will spend about three years around Mars before attempting to land on Phobos.
MMX will collect at least 10 grams of material from the surface of Phobos. A French rover named IDEFIX will conduct surface observations, while the probe also studies Deimos without landing.
The mission is a collaboration with US and European space agencies as well as numerous universities and technology companies.
The return capsule is expected to land in Australia in 2031. Scientists hope the samples will reveal how Mars and its moons formed — a key piece of the solar system’s birth story.
JAXA says the mission could also establish Phobos as a “natural space station” — a stepping stone for crewed Mars exploration.
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