JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) is set to lift off on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima at 19:41 UTC on 19 October (4:41 a.m. JST on the 20th). It should reach Mars in August 2027, study Phobos and Deimos, land on Phobos no earlier than December 2028 and return a sample to Earth in 2031. On board are NASA’s MEGANE gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer and a gas-powered P-Sampler, while France’s CNES and Germany’s DLR built the small Idefix rover that will drive on Phobos. Our take: the samples could finally show whether the two moons are debris from a giant impact on Mars.
19 Octlaunch, 19:41 UTC from Tanegashima
2027arrival at Mars (August)
2031Phobos sample back on Earth