Japan is preparing to launch its Martian Moons eXploration mission, MMX, to collect the first samples from Phobos and return them to Earth. JAXA’s October 18 notice sets liftoff from Tanegashima on H3 Flight 10 for October 20 at 04:41:03 Japan time, or October 19 at 19:41:03 UTC. BBC Sky at Night Magazine reported the launch preparations on October 19; the flight remains scheduled, not completed.
The mission seeks to resolve how Mars’s two moons, Phobos and Deimos, formed. NASA says they could be captured asteroids or debris from a massive collision with Mars. Studying their composition could clarify the early history of the inner planets and the delivery of water and organic compounds. These are research questions, not evidence that the mission has discovered life.
According to ESA, MMX will survey Phobos before deploying the Idefix rover and later landing to collect material. The goal is to return at least ten grams to Earth in 2031, with the capsule landing in Australia before transfer to Japan. The spacecraft will also investigate Deimos through flybys. NASA and ESA expect arrival at Mars in August 2027, so sampling and return remain future milestones.
NASA is contributing the MEGANE instrument, which measures neutrons and gamma rays to identify elements on Phobos’s surface. It also supplies a pneumatic sampler demonstration and communications and navigation support through its Deep Space Network. ESA identifies NASA, France’s CNES and Germany’s DLR as partners alongside the European agency in the Japanese-led mission. Their work combines remote measurements with eventual laboratory analysis.
ESA says Earth-based laboratories can use instruments too large, complex or sensitive for spaceflight, and preserve samples for future research. Those benefits depend on successful launch, travel, collection and return. JAXA lists October 21 through November 9, Japan time, as the reserve launch period, with times set separately for each day. The immediate next step is the planned H3 launch, rather than a scientific result from Phobos.
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