Japan Poised To Launch Mission To Martian Moons

Irene Klotz October 16, 2026 Concept of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft during its Mars orbit insertion, with the moon Phobos in the background. Credit: JAXA A pioneering mission to study a pair of Martian moons and return a 10-gram soil sample to Earth is being prepared for launch Oct. 19 from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center.

If successful, the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission will add the first samples of Martian real estate to the world’s... Irene Klotz Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.

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