Symbolic imageJapan's MMX probe launches toward Mars moon Phobos
Japan's space agency JAXA launched its MMX probe on an H3 rocket on Tuesday. It aims to bring back the first samples from a Martian moon.
The Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft, built by Mitsubishi Electric, lifted off before dawn on Tuesday, 20 October, from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. It is expected to reach Mars in August 2027 and return samples to Earth in 2031. JAXA wants to collect at least 10 grams from Phobos, which orbits roughly 6,000 km above the Martian surface, and hopes the material will shed light on the origin of the planet's two moons.
H3 rocket's first interplanetary flight
The launch was the first interplanetary mission for the H3, Japan's flagship launcher. It failed on its debut in 2023 when its second-stage engine did not ignite, but has since completed a series of mostly successful launches.
European lander on board
According to FAZ, a German-French lander named Idefix is part of the mission.
Russian attempt failed
Meduza notes that no soil sample from a Martian moon has ever been recovered. Russia's Phobos-Grunt, planned for 2011, was thwarted by a launch error and burned up in the atmosphere.