An H3 rocket lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center by the sea

Photo by nvs-live.com on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Japan Launches Spacecraft to Collect Mars Moon Soil

technologyOct 21, 2026·380 words·3 min read

Japan has successfully launched a spacecraft on the first mission ever to bring back material from Phobos, the larger of Mars's two small, potato-shaped moons. The Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) probe lifted off on Japan's flagship H3 rocket at 4:41 a.m. local time from the Tanegashima Space Center in the country's far south-west. Around an hour later, the probe separated from the rocket's upper stage, and officials at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) declared the launch a success, prompting celebrations in the control room.

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Scientists do not know how they were formed. Some think they are pieces from a big crash with Mars. Others think they are asteroids – rocks that travel around the Sun – that Mars pulled in with its gravity. The soil should help answer this question. Nobody has landed on these moons before.

MMX should reach Mars in 2027. First, it will drop a small rover – a robot car – built by France and Germany. Because the moon's gravity is very weak, the rover will bounce before it stops. It will look for safe places to land. Then the main spacecraft will land for about two hours and collect soil. The soil will come back to Earth in a capsule that lands in Australia. NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) says the results could help future trips to Mars with people.

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