Japan enters the race with China: MMX aims to bring back samples from a moon of Mars

A new Japanese mission to the moons of Mars aims to shed light on the origins of the Solar System. The MMX probe is expected to launch in the coming months from the Tanegashima Space Center and remain in orbit around the Red Planet for about three years.

During the mission, MMX will land on Phobos, where it aims to collect at least 10 grams of material from the moon’s surface. The Franco-German IDEFIX rover will conduct observations, while the probe will also study Deimos, Mars’s other moon, from a distance.

The capsule carrying the samples is expected to arrive on Earth, in Australia, around 2031. Analysis of the materials could help scientists determine whether Phobos and Deimos were formed after Mars collided with a celestial body or whether they are asteroids captured by the planet’s gravity.

Studying these samples could also provide clues about how water and organic compounds reached the rocky planets, creating the conditions necessary for the emergence of life. With this project, Japan is competing with China, which aims to bring back samples from Mars itself around 2031.