Japan’s space agency, JAXA, plans to send MMX to Mars’s moons. An H3 rocket will carry it from Japan on 20 October, Japan time. NASA is helping with tools and support. MMX will reach Mars in August 2027.
The mission will study Phobos and Deimos. Scientists want to learn how these moons formed. Perhaps rocks hit Mars and sent material into space. Or perhaps Mars caught large space rocks as they passed.
MMX plans to land on Phobos in 2030. It will collect soil and small stones. It plans to bring this material to Earth in 2031. Scientists will study it to learn more about the moons.
