Japan launches mission to Mars’s moon
The MMX mission is to bring soil samples from Phobos to Earth, with help from NASA and European partners.
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Japan has launched the Martian Moons eXploration mission to Phobos, one of Mars’s two small moons. The probe is to study the moon and eventually bring samples back to Earth.
Japan’s space agency JAXA launched the probe on an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. The mission is called MMX, short for Martian Moons eXploration, and is focused on Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is the larger of the two moons and has a diameter of about 22 kilometres.
The probe is due to reach Mars in August 2027. This will be followed by a lengthy research phase in which MMX studies the two moons from orbit around Mars. The main objective is to land on Phobos, where the mission is to collect soil samples. According to NASA, the material is scheduled to return to Earth in 2031.
Scientists hope the samples will reveal more about the formation of Phobos and the history of Mars. It is not yet certain whether Phobos is a captured asteroid or contains material ejected from Mars in a major impact. The composition of the soil could help compare these explanations.
The mission has been built internationally. NASA is supplying, among other things, a spectrometer for measuring gamma radiation and neutrons, as well as components for sample collection and support through the Deep Space Network. European institutions are also involved, including with a small rover that is to drive across the surface of Phobos.
That rover will have to contend with extremely low gravity. As a result, driving on the surface is different from driving on Earth or Mars: a small movement could cause the rover to lift off from the ground. The mission must therefore not only produce scientific data, but also provide experience of operating on small celestial bodies.
MMX is not a mission to the surface of Mars itself. The probe is to study the moons of Mars and return material from Phobos. The scientific conclusions will only follow after the samples have been examined; no direct indication of life or definitive answer to the question of their origin can be given in advance.
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The launch date, mission schedule, international contributions and return objective can be found in official sources. Speculation about Phobos’s origin is presented as an open scientific question.
- confirmed JAXA launched the MMX mission in October 2026. — JAXA lists 20 October 2026 as the launch date. source
- confirmed MMX is to bring a sample from Phobos back to Earth. — JAXA and NASA describe it as a sample-return mission. source
- confirmed NASA is supplying, among other things, the MEGANE spectrometer. — NASA explicitly mentions the spectrometer and other contributions. source
- confirmed Phobos has a diameter of about 22 kilometres. — AP gives a size of about 20 to 30 kilometres; 22 kilometres is also cited in mission sources. source
Editor's note
This is a current, launched space mission. The scientific objectives and schedule have been confirmed by JAXA and NASA; the eventual research findings are, of course, still unknown.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „ruimtevaart mars”
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- Trouw — „ruimtevaart mars”