Launch H3 / Martian Moons eXploration (MMX)

Launch Oct 19 at 3:41 pm EDT (Oct 20, 4:41 am JST), Japan’s first Mars mission is planned to conduct observations of Mars, Phobos & Deimos, to land on Phobos to collect samples and return them to Earth. Led by JAXA with major contributions from international partners including NASA, ESA, CNES, and DLR. Scheduled for launch in late 2026, the mission aims to determine the origin of Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, by investigating whether they are captured asteroids or remnants of a giant impact debris ring.

The spacecraft will arrive at Mars in 2027, where it will study both moons and deploy a small French-German rover named Idefix to navigate the low-gravity surface of Phobos. MMX will then use coring and pneumatic samplers to collect more than 10 grams of regolith from Phobos before leaving Martian orbit in 2030 and returning the sample capsule to Earth in 2031.