Mars moon mission to be NASA partnership with Japan
NASA is partnering with Japan's space agency, JAXA, for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. The project aims to study Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos, with plans to land on Phobos and return samples to Earth by 2031.
Why it matters
International collaboration in space exploration is critical for deep-space research and supports long-term goals for human missions to Mars.
Hear this story NASA is contributing to a Japan-led mission to study Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos. The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission also aims to land on Phobos and collect a sample. Scientists hope to determine the origin of the moons, which could be captured asteroids or remnants of a collision. The mission is scheduled to launch on October 19 from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center. NASA's ambitions to send humans to Mars to get an up-close look at Earth's planetary neighbor are no secret. But did you know the U.S. space agency also has interest in studying the red planet's dual moons?
That's right, NASA is integral to a Japan-led mission that in the coming days could send an uncrewed spacecraft toward Mars with the goal of surveying both of the planet's moons – and even landing on one of them.
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