14 October 2026Launches

JAXA's MMX mission to launch to Mars's moon Phobos on H3 rocket

JAXA's MMX spacecraft is set to launch on an H3 rocket on 19 October, bound for Phobos.

Artist's concept of the MMX spacecraft in space. — JAXA's explorer MMX is shown in this computer graphic from 2019. This work is licensed under the Government of Japan Standard Terms of Use (Ver.2 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is set to launch on an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center at 04:41 JST on 20 October 2026. This corresponds to 20:41 BST and 21:41 CEST on 19 October. MMX will be the first mission to collect a sample from Phobos and return it to Earth.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) leads the mission, in collaboration with NASA, the French space agency CNES, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The main spacecraft will study Phobos from a distance, then deploy a rover called Idefix to the surface, before landing to collect samples. On the way home it will fly past and further investigate Deimos and Mars. The mission carries 11 science instruments: seven on the main spacecraft and four on the rover.

The Idefix rover has two main tasks: providing information for the main spacecraft's landing and analysing the composition and texture of the surface. Due to the low gravity on Phobos, it will weigh the equivalent of 15 grams on the surface.

Sourceesa.int

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