TOKYO, Japan / AsiaWire.IO / – A spacecraft heading to Mars has been launched by Japan, aiming to investigate the planet’s enigmatic moons and bring back samples to Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe into space using an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center. The lift-off occurred early Tuesday morning, October 20, at 04:41 local time. The mission involves a collaboration among five space agencies over a five-year period.
MMX’s objectives include landing a robotic prospecting device and a rover on Phobos, which is the larger and closer of Mars’ two small moons. If all goes well, it will mark the first time a spacecraft orbits Phobos, collects samples from its surface, and returns to Earth from the Mars system. JAXA is leading the effort, with partnerships from NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and the European Space Agency. Confirmation of the spacecraft’s separation from the rocket was received following launch.
Researchers aim to clarify how Phobos and Deimos came to orbit Mars, with the giant impact hypothesis suggesting they formed after a large object struck Mars, while the capture hypothesis proposes they are captured asteroids from the outer Solar System. Data from orbit and the analysis of samples returned are expected to help determine which theory is correct.
Global partners supply rover and scientific tools
The French and German space agencies developed IDEFIX, a rover under 30 kg that will land on Phobos ahead of the main spacecraft to test surface mechanics and demonstrate wheeled movement. NASA contributed MEGANE, a neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer. The spacecraft carries seven scientific instruments, including an infrared spectrometer made in cooperation with CNES.
Europe also plays a crucial role in communication, providing a transponder and power amplifier for deep space links, utilizing its Estrack ground station network to send commands and receive data. ESA’s Director of Science Carole Mundell congratulated JAXA and the MMX team on the launch, while Elliot Sefton-Nash, the project scientist for MMX, praised the H3 launcher’s performance in propelling the spacecraft.
Sample collection set for 2031 in Australia
The spacecraft is projected to reach Mars vicinity about a year after launch, studying Phobos from a quasi-satellite orbit and evaluating landing sites prior to touchdown. MMX will gather at least 10 grams of material using two tools: a coring sampler on a robotic arm that targets regolith deeper than 2 cm, and a pneumatic sampler that uses pressurized gas to push soil into a container.
During its mission, MMX will also observe Deimos, the smaller Martian moon, during a flyby before departing Mars for a return journey of approximately one year. The collected samples are scheduled to return to Earth in 2031, with recovery planned in Australia. JAXA announced the mission in 2015, began development in 2020, initially aiming for a 2024 launch, but the schedule was later pushed to 2026.