TOKYO, Japan / AsiaWire.IO / – At dawn on Tuesday, October 20, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft, aiming to investigate Mars’s enigmatic moons and bring back samples. The spacecraft was deployed into space atop an H3 rocket launched from Tanegashima Space Center. This mission involves collaboration among five space agencies over a period of five years.
The goal of MMX is to land a robotic lander and rover on Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’s two small moons. If the mission succeeds, it will be the first spacecraft to orbit Phobos, the first to gather surface samples from it, and the first to return materials from the Mars system to Earth. JAXA is leading this effort, working alongside NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and the European Space Agency. Confirmation of spacecraft separation from the rocket was received shortly after launch.
Researchers are eager for insights into how Phobos and Deimos originated and came to orbit Mars. The giant impact hypothesis suggests that the moons formed after a large object collided with Mars, whereas the capture hypothesis posits they originated as asteroids from the outer Solar System that were gravitationally captured. Data obtained from orbital observations and the analysis of samples are expected to clarify which theory holds true.
Global partners contribute rover and scientific instruments
Prior to the main spacecraft’s arrival, France and Germany built IDEFIX, a rover weighing less than 30 kg, which will land on Phobos to test surface interactions and demonstrate wheeled mobility. NASA contributed MEGANE, a neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer. The spacecraft’s payload includes seven scientific instruments, notably an infrared spectrometer developed jointly with CNES.
Europe also plays a vital role in communication support, providing a transponder and power amplifier for deep space links. The European Space Agency’s Estrack ground station network will handle command transmission and data reception. ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell congratulated JAXA and the MMX team on the successful launch. Additionally, Elliot Sefton-Nash, the project scientist for MMX at ESA, praised the H3 launcher’s performance in propelling the spacecraft into space.
Sample collection scheduled for 2031 in Australia
Following a roughly one-year journey, the spacecraft is set to arrive near Mars, where it will orbit Phobos at a quasi-satellite distance, examining potential landing sites before touchdown. MMX plans to collect a minimum of 10 grams of surface material using two specialized tools. One is a coring sampler mounted on a robotic arm that targets regolith deeper than 2 cm, while the other is a pneumatic sampler that uses pressurized gas to push soil into a collection container.
During its mission, MMX will also perform flybys to observe Deimos, the smaller Martian moon, before departing the Mars system for a return trip estimated to last about one year. The capsule containing the samples is scheduled to land back on Earth in 2031, with recovery operations planned in Australia. The mission was first announced by JAXA in 2015, with development starting in 2020. Originally slated for a 2024 launch, the schedule was later moved to 2026.