As an astrophysicist, I think Japan’s bold new Mars moon mission will be a planetary game-changer
The Japanese space agency JAXA is preparing for the 2026 MMX mission to return samples from Mars' moon, Phobos. Scientists hope this mission will resolve the debate over whether Phobos is a captured asteroid or the result of a giant impact.
Why it matters
Analyzing pristine extraterrestrial material provides fundamental insights into the formation of the solar system and the history of Mars.
Despite decades of telescopic observation and orbital reconnaissance, Mars' inner moon Phobos remains one of the least understood bodies in the inner Solar System.
A new Phobos sample-return mission represents a significant advance in planetary science.
The expedition, Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) led by the Japanese space agency JAXA, launch on 19 October 2026.
It aims to clarify longstanding questions about the moon's origin and, by extension, the geological and potentially biological history of Mars itself.
The formation of Phobos remains a subject of active scientific debate.
The captured asteroid model proposes that Phobos was gravitationally acquired from the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter.
The giant impact model suggests the moon accreted from ejecta produced by a large-scale collision with the Martian surface.
But neither theory perfectly explains the observed properties of Phobos.
Headlinne story · 3 newsrooms
Japan Launches Robotic Mission to Retrieve Samples From Martian Moon
What every outlet reported, where they differ, and how each framed it →
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