MMX will return samples from the Martian moon Phobos to Earth by 2031.
JAXA, Japan's space agency
Natural Sciences Active Updated Oct 22, 2026
Japan's mission to bring back Phobos soil
Where it stands as of Oct 20, 2026
Japan's MMX mission has launched, starting a round trip meant to return Phobos soil to Earth by 2031, the first such return from that moon. The spacecraft is due to reach Mars in August 2027. It is not yet known whether it can land on and sample Phobos's weak-gravity surface.
The story so far
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Oct 22, 2026 Latest
Good News Network reported that MMX lifted off on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima on October 19 as a five-year, $578 million effort led by JAXA with NASA, CNES, DLR and ESA. A French-German rover named Idefix is to land first and scout a safe spot on Phobos. The lander is then meant to spend about two hours on the surface and collect at least 10 grams of material before the probe leaves Mars in 2030.
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Oct 20, 2026
Ars Technica and Interesting Engineering reported that Japan launched the MMX mission, which aims to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos by 2031.
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Oct 19, 2026
Phys.org reported that Japan's MMX mission was scheduled to lift off on an H3 rocket at 20:41 BST, beginning a five-year trip to bring Phobos soil home for the first time. The spacecraft is due to arrive at Mars in August 2027.
On the record
The checkable promises in this story, dated the day they were made. A promise is marked kept, slipped or partly met only when a later report says so; past its own date with no report, it reads "no word", which is what silence honestly is.
The MMX lander will collect at least 10 grams of material from the surface of Phobos during a stay of about two hours.
JAXA, Japan's space agency, with NASA, CNES, DLR and ESA, as reported by Good News Network
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