TOKYO, Japan / AsiaWire.IO / – Japan has launched a spacecraft bound for Mars on a quest to explore the planet’s mysterious moons and return samples to Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency sent the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe into space aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch took place before dawn on Tuesday, October 20, at 04:41 local time. Five space agencies are working together on the five-year mission.
The primary goal of MMX is to land a robotic prospector and a rover on Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two small moons. If successful, it will be the first spacecraft to orbit Phobos, collect samples from its surface, and return to Earth from the Mars system. JAXA leads this mission with collaboration from NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and the European Space Agency. The separation of the spacecraft from the rocket was confirmed after launch.
Scientists anticipate that the mission will help resolve how Phobos and Deimos arrived in orbit around Mars. The impact hypothesis suggests they formed after a large body struck Mars, while the capture hypothesis proposes they originated as asteroids from the outer Solar System pulled in by Mars’ gravity. Data collected from orbit and returned samples are expected to provide clarity on which theory is correct.
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. Its functions include testing surface behavior under mechanical impact and demonstrating mobility via wheeled traversal. NASA contributed MEGANE, a neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer. The spacecraft is equipped with seven science instruments, including an infrared spectrometer created in partnership with CNES.
Europe plays a vital role in communications support, providing a transponder and power amplifier for deep space links. ESA will utilize its Estrack ground station network to send commands and receive data. ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell congratulated JAXA and the MMX team on the launch. Elliot Sefton-Nash, the agency’s MMX project scientist, praised the H3 launcher for successfully sending the spacecraft on its journey.
Sample return scheduled for 2031 in Australia
The spacecraft is projected to reach Mars approximately one year after launch. It will orbit Phobos in a quasi-satellite orbit, conducting surveys of potential landing sites before touchdown. Using two tools, MMX aims to gather at least 10 grams of material; a coring sampler on a robotic arm will target regolith deeper than 2 cm, and a pneumatic sampler will fire pressurized gas to push soil into a container.
During its mission, MMX will also observe Deimos, the smaller Martian moon, during a flyby. After completing its surface activities, the spacecraft will leave the Mars system for a return journey lasting about a year. The sample capsule is expected to return to Earth in 2031, with recovery planned in Australia. The mission was first announced by JAXA in 2015, with development beginning in 2020. Initially scheduled for 2024, the launch was moved to 2026 before the current schedule.