Japan's MMX Phobos sample-return mission set to launch 20 October
JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration probe will lift off aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima on 20 October 2026 at 04:41 JST, beginning the first mission to collect samples from Mars' moon Phobos and return them to Earth.
Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is scheduled to launch aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center at 04:41 local time on 20 October 2026 (19:41 UTC on 19 October), the European Space Agency confirmed this week.
Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency with NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR and ESA, MMX will become the first mission to collect a sample from Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons, and return it to Earth. It will target at least 10 grams of material from the moon’s surface.
The spacecraft is expected to enter Mars orbit in August 2027, deploy the 25-kilogram Idefix rover in early 2029, and begin the return journey in late 2030. The sample capsule is due to land in Australia’s Woomera Prohibited Area in 2031.
Scientists hope the samples will finally reveal whether Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids or debris from an ancient impact with Mars — a century-old question about the formation of the Solar System.
More on this topic: all Satellite Internet stories
