Japan will launch the unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe to study the moons of Mars. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) scheduled the H3 rocket carrying the MMX to blast off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on 19 October 2026 at 04:41 am.
The spacecraft is expected to reach the vicinity of Mars around August 2027. The probe will orbit Phobos and land to gather at least 10 grams of material.
A rover named IDEFIX will perform surface observations to ensure a safe landing. The mission will last three years within the Martian sphere.
JAXA plans to investigate the possibility of using Phobos as a natural space station. While the probe will observe Deimos, it will not land on that moon.
The project involves a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and approximately 20 universities and technology firms. Makoto Arita, project manager of JAXA’s H3 rocket team, said, “Being able to be involved in such a grand mission is incredibly exciting.”
Patrick Michel, a French astrophysicist working on IDEFIX, stated, “MMX will shed light on the transport mechanisms that delivered water, volatiles, and organic compounds from the outer Solar System to the inner rocky planet region -- processes that may have played a key role in making these worlds habitable.” JAXA's Hayabusa-2 previously returned 5.4 grams of dust and rock from an asteroid in 2020.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been exploring Mars since 2021. The Trump administration cancelled the US Mars sample return mission following a US Congress vote in January.
China's Tianwen-3 spacecraft is slated for launch around 2028, with hopes to return samples to Earth as early as 2031.
