Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission successfully launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on October 20, 2026, beginning a journey to Mars and its largest moon, Phobos, with arrival at Mars expected in August 2027. The mission aims to collect and return the first-ever samples from the Martian system, potentially settling a long-running debate over whether Phobos and Deimos are captured asteroids or remnants of a giant impact on Mars.
organisation
JAXA
Japan's national space agency