TOKYO, Japan / AsiaWire.IO / – A spacecraft from Japan has been launched on a mission to explore Mars’ two small moons and to collect samples. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency sent the Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft, known as MMX, into space aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch occurred before dawn at 04:41 Japan time on Tuesday, October 20. This five-year effort aims to land a robotic spacecraft and a rover on Phobos.
Phobos is the larger and closer moon of Mars. MMX is expected to be the first spacecraft to orbit Phobos and also to gather samples from its surface. It is also set to be the first mission to return to Earth from the Mars system. JAXA leads the project, working with NASA, the French space agency CNES, the German Aerospace Center DLR, and the European Space Agency. The rocket launched successfully, and spacecraft separation was confirmed later.
This mission aims to answer a long-standing question about how the Martian moons formed. One theory, the giant impact hypothesis, suggests they formed after a large body collided with Mars. Another, the capture hypothesis, proposes they are asteroids from the outer Solar System captured by Mars’ gravity. JAXA states that remote sensing data and detailed analysis of the returned samples will clarify their origins.
International partners contribute rover and scientific instruments
CNES and DLR supplied a small rover called IDEFIX, weighing less than 30 kg. The rover will land on Phobos ahead of the main spacecraft. It will study how the surface reacts to mechanical actions and test wheeled movement. NASA contributed a neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer called MEGANE. CNES also helped develop an infrared spectrometer and provides expertise in flight dynamics. In total, the spacecraft carries seven scientific instruments.
ESA provided deep space communication tools, including a transponder and power amplifier. It will also support the mission through its Estrack network of ground stations. ESA project scientist Elliot Sefton-Nash said Japan’s H3 launcher performed excellently to send the spacecraft on its journey. ESA Director of Science Carole Mundell congratulated JAXA and the MMX team on the successful launch.
Sample collection expected to conclude in 2031
MMX is expected to arrive at Mars about a year after launch, with ESA estimating a landing next summer. The spacecraft will orbit Phobos in a quasi-satellite orbit and survey potential landing sites. It will then land and gather at least 10 grams of surface material. A coring sampler on a robotic arm can reach below 2 cm into the regolith, while a pneumatic sampler uses pressurized gas to push soil into a container.
After completing its work on Phobos, MMX will observe Mars’ smaller moon, Deimos, during a flyby. It will then leave the Mars system for a roughly one-year journey back to Earth. The sample return capsule is scheduled to deliver its cargo in 2031, with recovery planned in Australia. The mission was approved in 2020 and was initially set for launch in 2024, but the schedule was moved to 2026.