The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission
The JAXA-led Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission will be the first mission to collect a sample from Mars’s moon Phobos and bring it back to Earth. MMX is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the French space agency (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The mission is set to launch into space on a H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center at 04:41 JST on 20 October 2026 (20:41 BST / 21:41 CEST on 19 October 2026). It will enter orbit around Mars in August 2027, and orbit Phobos from September 2027.
Afterwards, the spacecraft will study the moon, deploy a rover to the surface, and in 2030 land and collect at least 10 grams of samples from the moon from two different sites on the surface before returning to Earth. On the way home, the return module of the spacecraft will fly past and study Mars's other moon, Deimos, as well as turning its instruments to Mars itself.
In 2031, the samples from Phobos will be sent back down to Earth in a special sample return capsule, to land in the Woomera Prohibited Area in Australia. There it will be picked up, the Phobos samples extracted and catalogued, and distributed to scientists.
[Image description: A comic-style infographic titled "The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission". On the top left are the logos for ESA, JAXA, NASA, DLR and CNES. The infographic is made up of panels showing the following: "October 2026", MMX launches from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan; "August 2027", MMX enters orbit around Mars; "September 2027", MMX enters orbit around Phobos; MMX observes Mars from orbit, scouting rover landing site, scouting sample sites; The main MMX spacecraft releases the Idefix rover, which lands on Phobos; MMX collects samples from Phobos – two different types and from two different sides of the moon; "November 2030", MMX's return module starts heading home, flying past Deimos and Mars on the way; "2031", MMX reaches Earth and sends its sample return capsule down to land in the Woomera Prohibited Area (Australia); The Phobos samples are extracted and catalogued, ready for scientific investigations; For decades to come, scientists will study these samples to answer questions including "Where did Mars's moons come from?", "What can they tell us about habitability in the Solar System?" and "How has Mars and its environment changed over time?".]
