Japan plans historic Mars moon mission to bring samples back to earth

Japan is preparing to launch an ambitious space mission to collect samples from one of Mars’s moons and return them to Earth, in a historic effort that could reveal new clues about the origins of the solar system and the ingredients that made life possible.

The unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is designed to become the first round-trip mission to the Martian system. The project brings together scientists and space agencies from Japan, the United States and Europe, alongside universities and technology companies.

According to JAXA, the H3 rocket carrying the spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Tuesday at 4:41am Japan time, or 12:41am Pakistan time.

The spacecraft is expected to reach the vicinity of Mars approximately a year after launch. It will then spend up to three years orbiting Phobos, the larger of Mars’s two moons, before attempting a landing and collecting at least 10 grams of surface material.

A small rover named IDEFIX, developed through French-German cooperation, will examine the moon’s surface to help scientists identify a suitable landing location.

“The sampling (from) Phobos is of course the world’s first,” MMX project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu told AFP, describing the mission as the first round trip to the Martian system.

After collecting the samples, the spacecraft will also observe Deimos, Mars’s smaller moon, before beginning its return journey to Earth.

Could Mars’s moons hold clues to life?

One of the mission’s biggest objectives is to determine how Phobos and Deimos formed. Scientists are investigating two leading theories: that the moons emerged from debris following a massive collision with Mars, or that they are asteroids captured by the planet’s gravity.

Resolving the question could improve understanding of how water, organic compounds and other essential materials reached the inner solar system.

French astrophysicist Patrick Michel, who is working on the IDEFIX project, said the mission could help scientists investigate the processes that delivered materials needed for habitable environments on rocky planets.

If the moons preserve remnants of these early processes, their samples could offer valuable evidence about the conditions that preceded the emergence of life.

A major step towards human Mars exploration

Beyond scientific discoveries, JAXA hopes the mission will help develop technologies needed for future human exploration of Mars. Researchers will examine whether Phobos could potentially serve as a natural staging point for missions to the Red Planet.

Landing and returning samples will present significant engineering challenges because Phobos has extremely weak gravity, while the spacecraft must also escape Mars’s powerful gravitational field to return to Earth.

Japan has previous experience with extraterrestrial sample recovery. Its Hayabusa2 mission returned 5.4 grams of asteroid material in 2020, demonstrating the country’s ability to complete complex space operations.

The MMX mission also comes amid growing international competition to bring Martian material to Earth. China plans to launch its Tianwen-3 sample-return mission around 2028, targeting a possible return by 2031.

By studying material from Phobos, Japan hopes to answer fundamental questions about planetary formation while advancing the technology needed for humanity’s next major steps into deep space.