Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft lifted off aboard an H3 rocket at 04:41 Japan time on October 20, which was the evening of October 19 in the United States. ESA confirmed the successful launch. The destination is Phobos, a strange small moon of Mars whose origin remains disputed.
MMX plans to observe both Phobos and Deimos, deploy a Franco-German rover, and collect material from Phobos before bringing a sample capsule back to Earth in 2031. Scientists hope the chemistry and geology will distinguish between a captured asteroid and a moon assembled from impact debris.
This is an excellent watch-and-learn story rather than a purchase. The launch replay and JAXA mission animations show how difficult it is to land on a body with extremely weak gravity, collect a useful sample, and navigate home years later.
What to do: Watch JAXA’s launch replay and bookmark the MMX mission site for the first close-up images when the spacecraft reaches Mars.