Illustration: JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is scheduled to launch October 19, 2026, from Tanegashima Space Center.
A NASA-backed mission to land on one of Mars' moons and bring pieces of it back to Earth is set to launch on Monday, October 19, 2026 — the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, which will attempt the first-ever sample return from a Martian moon.
Led by JAXA with NASA support, the mission will send a spacecraft to study Mars' two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, touch down on Phobos, and — if all goes to plan — deliver a sample of the moon to Earth by 2031. NASA is holding a news briefing on the mission at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 15, streaming live on NASA's YouTube channel, according to USA Today.
What Happened
The MMX spacecraft is scheduled to lift off Monday, October 19, from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. If the mission launches on schedule, the spacecraft would be expected to arrive at Mars by August 2027, according to NASA.
Once there, the vehicle will not merely fly past the moons. It will survey both Phobos and Deimos up close — studying their surfaces, including the elemental composition of Phobos — and then, in December 2028, land on Phobos itself to collect a sample from the moon that could be returned to Earth by 2031.
The mission's central scientific goal is to determine the origin and evolution of Mars' two moons. Scientists suspect that the smaller, asteroid-sized moons could either be the remnants of something that crashed into Mars long ago, or asteroids captured by the planet's gravity — two very different histories that a returned sample could help resolve.
Illustration: the MMX spacecraft is expected to land on Phobos in December 2028 and collect a sample from the moon.
Background
Phobos and Deimos are among the strangest objects in the solar system. Phobos — from the Greek word for "fear" — is the larger of the two and orbits Mars three times a day, closer to its planet than any other known moon. Unlike Deimos ("dread" in Greek), which is drifting ever-outward and will eventually leave Mars' orbit entirely, Phobos is on a collision course with the red planet: Mars' strong gravity is drawing Phobos about 6 feet closer every century, and within the next 50 million years the moon is expected to either crash into Mars or break up into a planetary ring like Saturn's.
Despite decades of robotic exploration of Mars itself, its moons have never been sampled. A sample from Phobos would be the first material ever returned from a Martian moon — and potentially the first from the Mars system as a whole, depending on the timeline of other planned Mars sample return efforts. Analyzing Phobos material in Earth laboratories, where instruments far more capable than anything that can be flown on a spacecraft can be brought to bear, could settle long-running debates about whether the moons are captured asteroids or debris from a giant ancient impact.
The mission also carries engineering significance for Japan's space program. Landing on a tiny moon with almost no gravity — Phobos is only about 14 miles across at its widest — is a fundamentally different challenge from landing on Mars or Earth's Moon. The spacecraft must touch down gently enough not to bounce off into space, collect material from the surface, and then lift off again for the long journey home.
NASA's backing adds weight to the mission. The US space agency is supporting MMX as part of its broader interest in Mars system science, and the 4 p.m. ET briefing on October 15 signals the agency's intent to give the launch a high public profile.
Why It Matters
A successful MMX mission would open a new chapter in planetary science. The origin of Phobos and Deimos is one of the enduring mysteries of the inner solar system: if they are captured asteroids, they are pristine time capsules from the early solar system; if they are impact debris, they record a cataclysmic event in Mars' history. Either answer would rewrite textbooks.
The mission also matters as a technological pathfinder. Precision landing on a low-gravity body, autonomous sample collection, and a multi-year interplanetary round trip are exactly the capabilities needed for more ambitious missions — including eventual human exploration of the Mars system. Every success de-risks the next, harder mission.
And there is a quiet strategic dimension. With multiple nations and companies racing to establish capabilities beyond Earth orbit, a Japanese-led sample return from deep space would demonstrate an independent, world-class interplanetary capability — one achieved through international partnership rather than go-it-alone competition.
Illustration: the Phobos sample could return to Earth by 2031, according to NASA.
What Happens Next
The immediate milestone is the October 19 launch from Tanegashima. Assuming a successful liftoff, the spacecraft faces a long cruise: arrival at Mars in August 2027, more than a year of surveying both moons, the Phobos landing in December 2028, and then the return journey — with Earth arrival targeted for 2031.
Between now and then, mission controllers will have years of operations to execute, each phase carrying its own risks: the landing on a near-weightless body, the sample collection, the departure from Phobos, and the high-speed re-entry of the sample capsule into Earth's atmosphere.
Scientists, meanwhile, will be preparing. Laboratories around the world that hope to analyze the Phobos sample are already thinking about what to look for: isotopic signatures that could distinguish a captured asteroid from impact debris, organic compounds that could hint at the chemistry of the early solar system, and mineral clues to the moons' formation.
If MMX succeeds, 2031 could see something no human has ever held: a piece of a Martian moon, delivered to Earth by a spacecraft that traveled hundreds of millions of miles to fetch it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the MMX mission?
MMX — Martian Moons eXploration — is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission, backed by NASA, to study Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos. It is scheduled to launch October 19, 2026, from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.
What will MMX do at Mars?
The spacecraft is expected to arrive at Mars by August 2027, survey both moons including the elemental composition of Phobos' surface, land on Phobos in December 2028, collect a sample, and return it to Earth by 2031.
Why are scientists interested in Phobos and Deimos?
Their origin is unknown: they could be remnants of something that crashed into Mars or asteroids captured by the planet's gravity. A returned sample analyzed in Earth laboratories could settle the debate.
Has anyone ever brought back a sample from a Martian moon?
No. If MMX succeeds, it would be the first sample return from a Martian moon — and potentially the first sample returned from the Mars system.
When does the MMX spacecraft reach Earth with the sample?
According to NASA, if the mission launches on schedule, the Phobos sample could be returned to Earth by 2031.
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Sources
- USA Today — "NASA-backed mission aims to land on Mars moon, bring samples home" (Oct 15, 2026): MMX mission overview, JAXA leadership, Oct 19 launch from Tanegashima Space Center, Aug 2027 Mars arrival, Dec 2028 Phobos landing, 2031 sample return, Phobos/Deimos origin question, NASA 4 p.m. ET Oct 15 briefing
- NASA: MMX mission details, Phobos/Deimos characteristics
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