Japan's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) launched on 19 October 2026 on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center, separating about 71 minutes later onto its planned trajectory to Mars.
MMX is expected to reach the Mars system in August 2027 and survey Phobos — an irregular, lumpy moon roughly 22–27 km across, orbiting only about 6,000 km above Mars. The mission plans to collect at least 10 grams of Phobos material from two sites and return it to Earth in 2031, which would be the first sample return from a Martian moon.
The big science question: is Phobos a captured asteroid, or debris from a giant impact on Mars? The returned samples should finally settle it. Landing and sample-collection steps are planned, not yet done.
#MMX #Phobos #MarsMoon #JAXA #SpaceShorts #Mars
