Japan is preparing a major space mission to the moons of Mars. The Martian Moons eXploration project, led by JAXA, aims to retrieve material samples from the moon Phobos. Scientists believe this mission will provide key data on the origin of the Solar System and the early development of habitable environments on rocky planets like Earth.
The spacecraft will spend three years in Martian orbit. It carries the IDEFIX rover, which will perform surface analysis once it reaches the moon. The return capsule is scheduled to bring the collected material back to Earth by 2031. Engineers at Mitsubishi Electric designed specific landing legs to manage the extremely low gravity on Phobos, a technical hurdle for the team.
This mission is a collaborative effort involving space agencies from France, Germany, NASA, and the European Space Agency. Beyond its scientific goals, the project intends to test technology for future crewed missions to the red planet, effectively using Phobos as a natural refueling and observation point.
International competition remains a factor in this race to retrieve samples. While NASA previously initiated a sample return effort, shifting priorities in the United States have impacted that project. Meanwhile, China continues its own space program, with a planned mission to return Martian samples to Earth around 2031. Japan continues to build on its track record of successful space operations, including the Hayabusa-2 mission that returned asteroid samples in 2020.