The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is the worlds first sample return mission to the Martian sphere. Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in collaboration with NASA, the French Space Agency (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA), the mission aims to explore Mars’s moons Phobos and Deimos, and bring back a sample from Phobos. Researchers at the University of Bern are developing tools to study the origin of Martian Moons and work on simulations supporting the missions goals. The University of Bern is also part of an international outreach effort surrounding the MMX mission, which began with a kick-off event in Bern.
The MMX spacecraft launches today! Delivered to the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center earlier today, MMX is set to launch on October 19 at 21:41:03 CEST (October 20 at 04:41:03 JST). MMX then travels roughly one year before it reaches Mars.
The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft launches today. MMX will then travel for once year to Mars, where it will enter into an orbit around the planet similar to that of its moon Phobos. While in orbit, MMX will study possible landing sites on Phobos where samples can be collected by the lander rover and the spacecraft itself. Follow the launch via the official JAXA livestream, starting at 20:45 CEST.
