Japan Sets October 20 Launch for MMX Mission to Bring Back a Sample of Mars's Moon Phobos

Japan's space agency has fixed October 20 as the launch date for a mission that aims to bring back the first sample ever collected from a moon of Mars. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said its flagship H3 rocket, carrying the uncrewed Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe, will lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 a.m. local time. The mission is a collaboration with the United States and European space agencies, along with numerous universities and technology companies.

After launch the spacecraft is to stay in orbit around Mars for about three years and then attempt to land on Phobos, the larger of the planet's two moons. It is designed to collect at least 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of material from the surface of Phobos. A rover named IDEFIX will carry out observations on the surface, while the probe will also study Deimos, the other Martian moon, without landing on it. A return capsule is meant to head back to Earth and land in Australia in 2031.

JAXA says the mission could help reveal how Mars and its moons formed, which it describes as a key piece in working out how the solar system was born. The agency also plans to use the mission to test whether Phobos could serve as a "natural space station," developing the technology needed for a round trip to Mars that the agency calls essential for future crewed exploration of the planet.