TOKYO — Japan is preparing to launch a historic, unmanned space mission aimed at returning samples from a Martian moon to help scientists understand the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth.
The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe is scheduled to lift off on Tuesday at 4:41 a.m. local time (1941 GMT Monday) aboard a flagship H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The project is a collaborative effort involving space agencies from the United States and Europe, alongside various tech companies and universities.
Upon launch, the spacecraft is expected to take approximately one year to reach the Martian region. Once there, the MMX probe will orbit the moon Phobos for up to three years before attempting to land and retrieve soil samples. The mission aims to complete a round trip and bring the material back to Earth by 2031, while also gathering data to support future human space exploration.