Japan’s Mars moon mission launched successfully
The MMX probe is travelling to Phobos and is later due to release a European rover there.
Follow-up to: Japan launches mission to retrieve samples from Martian moon Monday, 19 October 2026, 22:41
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Japan’s space agency JAXA launched the MMX mission towards the Martian moon Phobos on Monday evening. On board is the Franco-German rover Idefix, which is due to land on a Martian moon around 2028 or 2029.
According to the German Aerospace Centre DLR, the launch took place on 19 October at 9.41 pm Dutch time from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center. DLR said the probe was sent into space aboard an H3 rocket.
MMX stands for Martian Moons eXploration. The mission is intended to study Phobos and Deimos and provide greater clarity about their origins. Among other possibilities, scientists are debating whether they are captured asteroids or material that entered orbit around the planet after a major impact on Mars.
According to DLR, the Idefix rover was jointly developed by DLR and the French space agency CNES. DLR said the vehicle is due to land on Phobos around the turn of 2028 and 2029 and carry out measurements for approximately 100 days.
The MMX probe itself is then due to land on Phobos and collect soil samples. NASA says it will provide, among other things, a spectrometer, a sample-collection instrument and support through the Deep Space Network. The samples are scheduled to return to Earth in 2031.
The launch is a new development compared with the previously reported intention to begin the mission. The scientific outcome remains uncertain: the probe must first complete the long journey to Mars, while the landing on Phobos and the collection of material have yet to take place.
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The launch, organisations involved and planned mission components have been confirmed by multiple primary sources. Future events have been described as plans, not accomplished facts.
- confirmed MMX was launched on 19 October 2026 at 9.41 pm Dutch time. — DLR gives the launch time and launch site. source
- confirmed Idefix is due to land on Phobos around 2028 or 2029. — DLR gives the planned landing around the turn of 2028 and 2029. source
- confirmed The samples are due to return to Earth in 2031. — NASA and DLR name 2031 as the planned return date. source
Editor's note
The successful launch and mission planning have been confirmed by DLR, NASA and JAXA. The eventual landing, sample collection and scientific yield are future objectives.Sources
The story so far
- Monday, 19 October 2026, 13:42 Japan plans mission to launch for Mars’s potato moon
- Monday, 19 October 2026, 22:41 Japan launches mission to retrieve samples from Martian moon
- Monday, 19 October 2026, 23:43 Japanese probe sets off for Mars moon Phobos
- Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 12:13 Japan’s Mars moon mission launched successfully (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „ruimtevaart japan”
- AD — „ruimtevaart japan”
- de Volkskrant — „ruimtevaart japan”