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Japan to Launch Probe for Mars Moons in October: Space Agency

The probe will collect at least 10 grams of Phobos material and test technology for future crewed Mars missions, JAXA said.

  • On Oct 20, The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch the MMX probe from Tanegashima Space Center to target Phobos, a moon of Mars.
  • Collaborative efforts between JAXA and European agencies drive the mission, which seeks to unlock the origins of the Solar System and reveal how Mars and its moons formed.
  • Equipped with the French-built IDEFIX rover, the probe will collect at least 10 grams of Phobos material and observe Demios, another Mars moon.
  • JAXA plans to explore using Phobos as a "natural space station," establishing technology "essential for crewed Mars exploration."
  • Following three years in Mars orbit, a return capsule will land in Australia in 2031, bringing back extraterrestrial material for study.
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Japan will launch a probe in the direction of Mars on 20 October in order to collect samples of one of its moons and bring them back to Earth, announced the Japanese space agency JAXA on Thursday.

·Paris, France
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The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), unmanned and developed with American and European space agencies, as well as universities and technology companies, is expected to contribute to the discovery of the mysteries of the origins of the solar system and of life on Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has declared that the flagship H3 rocket carrying the MMX probe will take off from the Tanegashima space centre at 04:41 on 20 Octobe…

·Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
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Japan will launch, on October 20, a probe to collect and bring samples from one of the Mars moons, announced today the Japanese space agency.

·Portugal
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nippon.com broke the news on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
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