Japan is launching a mission to Mars’s largest moon Phobos

Check your subscription status, update your details and more. The Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft, set to launch on 20 October, will bring back samples that should solve a moon mystery that has been vexing scientists for more than a century We may be on the verge of solving the mystery of the Martian moons. On 20 October, the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft launches towards the larger of the two moons, Phobos, with the goal of bringing back a sample that may finally explain how Phobos and its sibling, Deimos, formed.

MMX will launch from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. If all goes to plan, it should arrive at Mars in August 2027, entering an orbit that keeps it alongside Phobos so it can build a detailed map of the surface. Along the way, it will also observe the surface of Deimos.

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