Japan is preparing to launch an ambitious mission that will become the first-ever sample-return expedition to the Martian system. The MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) probe will lift off on 20 October from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H3 rocket.
The goal is to reach Phobos, collect at least 10 grams of soil, and deliver the samples to Earth in 2031. This will be the first time material from another planet's moon returns to terrestrial laboratories.
The spacecraft will spend up to three years in orbit around Phobos, studying its surface and observing the second Martian moon, Deimos. Before landing, a small rover called IDEFIX, developed by France and Germany, will be lowered on board.
"Sampling from Phobos is, of course, a world first, but it means... the first return flight to the Martian system," noted MMX project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu.
The mission will help answer a key question: did Phobos and Deimos form as a result of a giant impact on Mars, or were they captured by the planet's gravity like asteroids? The answer will shed light on how water and organic matter found their way into the Solar System.
Phobos's weak gravity and the need to escape Mars's "gravity well" pose serious engineering challenges. Japanese specialists are drawing on the experience of the Hayabusa2 mission, which in 2020 delivered samples from an asteroid.
NASA, ESA, CNES and DLR are participating in the project. Against the backdrop of China's plans to launch its own Martian mission, Tianwen-3, around 2028, MMX highlights the growing competition in the exploration of the Red Planet.
Will the mission succeed in opening new pages in our understanding of the origin of life on rocky planets?
