Space · by Tanvir Rahman · 2026-10-20
JAXA's MMX is on its way to grab a piece of Phobos
bbc.co.uk
Japan's space agency has launched its mission to Mars, aiming to collect a sample from the moon Phobos and bring it back to Earth. JAXA already has real sample return experience from the Hayabusa missions, so this is a team that knows how to do hard small-body work. Phobos is interesting because its origin is still debated, captured asteroid or debris from Mars itself. What do you hope the sample tells us?
63 sparks · 17 comments
Comments
Mariana Costa · 6 likes
multiple years for sure, it's a long round trip
Olena Shevchenko · 0 likes
see you all in this thread again around the end of the decade
Diego García · 8 likes
the captured asteroid vs impact debris question is the big one. a physical sample could actually settle it
Yui Tanaka · 2 likes
I'm team impact debris but would happily be proven wrong
Achieng Njeri · 7 likes
Phobos is also slowly falling toward Mars, so get your samples while you can
Kanya Srisai · 2 likes
only a few dozen million years left, better hurry
Miguel Santos · 4 likes
love that this isn't getting hyped to death. quietly doing incredible science
Noah Miller · 0 likes
JAXA just does the thing and lets the results talk
Cedar Panda · 0 likes
JAXA's track record on sample return is honestly underrated. hayabusa2 was flawless
Yui Tanaka · 11 likes
the ion engine saga on hayabusa 1 is one of my favorite space stories
Priya Nair · 2 likes
hayabusa 1 was a mess but they still brought it home, that's grit
Siti Lestari · 0 likes
if Phobos formed from Mars ejecta the sample could contain bits of ancient Mars too right?
Jasmine Cruz · 1 likes
that's one of the hopes yeah, it'd be like a free mars sample
Isha Menon · 1 likes
way cheaper than landing on mars and launching back up lol
Sanne de Vries · 0 likes
Mars sample return keeps getting delayed and Japan is just going to the moon next door and getting one anyway
Gentle Rider · 11 likes
the Phobos route is genuinely clever, much lower gravity to escape