TOKYO, Japan / AsiaWire.IO / – A spacecraft has been launched by Japan to explore Mars’ enigmatic moons, aiming to bring back samples to Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency dispatched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe into space via an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch occurred before dawn on Tuesday, October 20, at 04:41 local time. The mission is a collaborative effort involving five space agencies over a span of five years.
MMX aims to land a robotic probe and rover on Phobos, the larger and nearer of Mars’ two small moons. If the operation succeeds, it will mark the first time a spacecraft orbits Phobos, collects surface samples, and returns to Earth from the Mars system. JAXA leads this international mission, which also includes NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and the European Space Agency. The spacecraft’s separation from the rocket was confirmed following launch.
Researchers hope that the mission will help clarify whether Phobos and Deimos originated from a giant impact hypothesis, which suggests they formed after a large object struck Mars, or the capture hypothesis, which proposes they began as asteroids from the outer Solar System pulled in by Mars’ gravity. Data from orbit and samples returned are expected to shed light on their origins.
Global partners supply rover and scientific instruments
Prior to the main spacecraft’s arrival, the French and German space agencies developed IDEFIX, a rover weighing less than 30 kg, which will land on Phobos first. Its objectives include testing surface mechanics and demonstrating wheeled mobility. NASA contributed MEGANE, a neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer. The spacecraft carries seven scientific instruments, including an infrared spectrometer developed in collaboration with CNES.
Europe also plays a vital role in communication support, providing a transponder and power amplifier for deep space links, with ESA’s Estrack ground station network used to send commands and receive data. ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell congratulated JAXA and the MMX team on the successful launch. Elliot Sefton-Nash, the project scientist for MMX, praised the H3 launcher’s performance in propelling the spacecraft into space.
Sample collection scheduled for 2031 in Australia
After roughly a year in transit, the spacecraft is expected to arrive near Mars, where it will study Phobos from a quasi-satellite orbit and evaluate potential landing sites. It will gather at least 10 grams of material using two tools: a coring sampler on a robotic arm that targets regolith over 2 cm deep, and a pneumatic sampler that fires pressurized gas to push soil into a container.
During a flyby, MMX will also observe Deimos, the smaller Martian moon, before departing for a return journey of approximately one year. The capsule containing the samples is planned to land back on Earth in 2031, with recovery operations scheduled in Australia. The mission was first announced by JAXA in 2015, with development beginning in 2020. Initially slated for a 2024 launch, the schedule was later moved to 2026.