Japan launches MMX to Mars’s moon Phobos

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the only conventional-trajectory* Mars-bound spacecaft of this Mars launch window – the favorable moment for launching towards Mars that occurs every 26 months (about 2 years).

The mission called MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) will explore the martian moons and aims to be the first spacecraft to orbit Mars’s moon Phobos, the first to collect samples from this moon's surface, and the first to return to Earth from the Mars system. 

MMX is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the French space agency (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA). 

MMX spacecraft, weighing roughly 4.5 tonnes, was launched into space on an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center at 04:41 JST on 20 October 2026 (20:41 BST / 21:41 CEST on 19 October 2026). You can rewatch JAXA's livestream of the launch here (link is also below).

More information about MMX is available at JAXA website and ESA factsheet.

* NASA’s ESCAPADE twin probes (launched in November 2025 on New Glenn) are also using the same 2026 Earth–Mars alignment.