Overview
- JAXA launched the MMX spacecraft on H3 No.10 from Tanegashima on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, and confirmed the probe separated and entered a Mars-bound trajectory about 1 hour and 11 minutes after liftoff.
- The H3 No.10 flew in its highest-thrust 24 configuration with four solid rocket boosters and JAXA said the flight used the rocket's full performance for a planetary launch.
- JAXA reported the spacecraft is stable and operating normally after launch and outlined the mission schedule of Mars approach in August 2027, two Phobos landings and sample collection in 2029, and an Earth return of the sample capsule around 2031.
- The mission is Japan-led and international, carrying instruments developed with NASA, French teams and Japanese universities, and it won public diplomatic backing from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
- JAXA said the successful flight is prompting work to transfer routine H3 launch operations to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries possibly as early as 2027, and scientists say returned samples could settle Phobos' origin and offer clues about water or organics tied to the origins of life.