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Japan's Bold MMX Mission Targets Mars Moon Phobos
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News18•18-10-2026, 16:42
Japan's Bold MMX Mission Targets Mars Moon Phobos
- •Japan's space agency JAXA is launching the Martian Moons Exploration mission to study the potato-shaped Martian moon Phobos.
- •The spacecraft will take one year to reach Phobos, conduct research for three years, and take another year to return with soil samples.
- •The mission aims to uncover how Mars moons were formed and investigate if Phobos can serve as a future base for human missions to Mars.
- •Phobos is the larger of Mars two moons, discovered in 1877, and orbits Mars three times a day at a distance of about 6000 kilometers.
- •Scientists expect the collected soil samples to contain material originating from Mars, providing crucial insights into the red planet.
Key Questions Answered
Japan's Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission aims to reach the potato-shaped moon Phobos, conduct research there for three years, and return to Earth with soil and surface samples to determine how Mars' moons were formed. Additionally, the samples will help evaluate whether Phobos can be used as a base for future human missions to Mars.
The MMX spacecraft is scheduled to launch on October 20, 2026. It will lift off aboard Japan's H3 rocket from the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Tanegashima Space Center.
Scientists chose Phobos because it is larger in size and closer to Mars compared to Deimos, making it a better target to provide critical information about the Martian system.
