Summary
JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission lifted off on an H3 rocket on 20 October 2026. It is planned to investigate Phobos and Deimos, collect a sample from Phobos and return to Earth.
Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft lifted off aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center at 04:41 JST on 20 October 2026, beginning a mission to investigate Mars’s moons Phobos and Deimos, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA’s project scientist said the spacecraft is expected to arrive at Mars next summer.
A planned first for Phobos exploration
ESA describes MMX as set to achieve three firsts: orbit Phobos, collect samples from its surface and return to Earth from the Mars system. These are mission objectives still ahead of the spacecraft following its launch.
Phobos and Deimos are Mars’s two natural moons. Studying them up close, and bringing material from Phobos back to Earth, will give researchers samples to examine with laboratory instruments. ESA says European researchers appointed to the mission’s science team will help plan observations, analyse data from MMX’s instruments and study the returned samples.
ESA’s contribution to the mission
MMX is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR and ESA. ESA’s contribution includes deep-space communication equipment for the spacecraft and ground-station support through its Estrack network, which sends commands and receives data. The mission is also a Mission of Opportunity in ESA’s Science Programme.