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[TECHNOLOGY] · Japan, United States, France, Germany, Australia · 100 sources

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JAXA launches MMX mission to collect samples from Mars moon Phobos

Japan's space agency, JAXA, has successfully launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft aboard an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. The mission, which involves international collaboration with NASA, ESA, CNES, DLR, and ASA, aims to investigate the origins of Mars's moons, Phobos and Deimos.

The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive in the Martian system in August 2027. The mission plan includes studying both moons, with a primary focus on Phobos. A small rover named Idefix, developed by CNES and DLR, is intended to land on Phobos to explore the surface and identify safe landing sites. The mission aims to collect at least 10 grams of material from Phobos to determine if the moons are captured asteroids or remnants of a giant impact on Mars.

If successful, the MMX mission will achieve the first round-trip from the Mars sphere, with the sample return capsule expected to land in Australia in 2031.

Entities

Deimos · ESA · European Space Agency · JAXA · Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency · Kiyoshi Kuramoto · Mars · NASA · Phobos · Tanegashima Space Center · Yasuhiro Kawakatsu

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