NASA is contributing an instrument, a sample-collection mechanism, and communications and navigation support to JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration mission, or MMX. The spacecraft is designed to study both Phobos and Deimos, collect material from Phobos, and return it to Earth. Those observations and laboratory analyses could help resolve a long-running question: did Mars’s moons form from debris after a giant impact, or did Mars capture asteroids? Neither explanation is settled.
How did Mars get its moons?
Phobos and Deimos are small moons discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877. Their origin remains debated, with two leading explanations: both formed from material thrown off Mars by a giant impact, or Mars captured two passing asteroids. MMX is designed to gather evidence relevant to both possibilities rather than assume either one is correct.
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| Hypothesis | What researchers can test |
|---|---|
| Debris from a giant impact | Whether the moons’ materials and mineral signatures are consistent with material originating from Mars or an impact-generated debris field. |
| Captured asteroids | Whether their materials resemble primitive asteroids and whether their composition, internal structure, and orbital context fit capture. |
JAXA identifies composition, internal structure, topography, and gravity as mission targets. NASA’s description of the MEGANE instrument explains one way the mission will examine composition. No single measurement will decide the question: the case will depend on how observations of both moons and the returned sample fit together.
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MMX is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with participation from NASA, France’s CNES, Germany’s DLR, and the European Space Agency (ESA). JAXA describes eleven scientific instruments for investigating the moons and the Mars environment. NASA’s contributions include MEGANE, a pneumatic sampler, and support from the Deep Space Network for communications and navigation.
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Instruments that map the moons
| Instrument | What it measures or reveals |
|---|---|
| TENGOO | A narrow-angle camera for detailed terrain images; JAXA states a surface-image resolution of about 40 cm. |
| OROCHI | A wide-angle multispectral camera used to study surface materials. |
| LIDAR | Measures reflected laser light to infer surface altitude and albedo. |
| MIRS | Observes in the near-infrared band from 0.9 to 3.6 microns to map hydrous minerals, water-related substances, and possible organic matter. |
| MEGANE | NASA’s gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. It detects emissions produced by cosmic-ray interactions and natural radioactivity; their energies help researchers infer Phobos’s elemental composition. |
The cameras, laser measurements, and spectrometers provide different kinds of evidence. Together with measurements of gravity and internal structure, they are intended to put the moons’ surface materials into a broader physical and geological context.
A rover and two ways to collect material
The IDEFIX rover, developed jointly by CNES and DLR, is designed to inspect Phobos. Its surface measurements are intended to characterize the regolith—the loose material covering the surface—and help reduce risks for landing and sampling.
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MMX has two sampler mechanisms with different approaches. JAXA’s C-Sampler is a robotic arm and corer designed to collect subsurface material down to 2 cm. NASA’s P-Sampler uses pressurized gas to loft surface material into a sample container; it was fabricated by Honeybee Robotics. A return capsule is designed to bring collected material through Earth’s atmosphere. JAXA states a sample-return goal of more than 10 g.
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They could be, but that is not established. Their small size and unusual characteristics have helped keep the origin question open; the mission’s purpose is to collect better evidence, not to confirm a predetermined answer.
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MMX can test the hypotheses by comparing the moons’ observed properties with the composition of Phobos material returned to Earth. Similarities to Mars-related material could inform the impact-debris explanation; signatures resembling primitive asteroids could inform the capture explanation. Those are lines of evidence, not a one-to-one verdict: researchers must also consider the moons’ internal structure, surface, topography, gravity, and orbital context.
Laboratory study of returned material can complement remote sensing by allowing detailed analysis of its composition and minerals. JAXA project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu describes the broader aim: “By bringing home samples from Phobos, we hope to explore how the Martian moons were formed, how the Mars sphere evolved, and how the water and organic materials found on the terrestrial planets originated.”
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When will the Phobos sample return to Earth?
NASA’s October 8, 2026 release gives the following prospective schedule. These are mission plans, not completed events.
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| Mission milestone | Plan stated by NASA |
|---|---|
| Launch from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan | October 20, 2026; October 19 in U.S. Eastern Daylight Time |
| Arrival at Mars | Expected in August 2027 |
| Phobos sample collection | No earlier than December 2028 |
| Sample delivery to Earth | Planned for 2031 |
JAXA describes recovery of the sample capsule in Australia. The mission also has to operate across the long distance to the Martian system, navigate to a planetary moon, maintain deep-space communications, and carry out sampling. NASA’s Deep Space Network contribution supports communications and navigation; the instruments and sampling systems address the scientific and surface-operation challenges.
Why study these small moons?
Phobos is larger and closer to Mars than Deimos. NASA says Phobos orbits about 6,000 km above Mars’s surface and completes three orbits each day; Deimos takes about 30 hours to orbit Mars. NASA also estimates that Phobos is spiraling inward by about 1.8 meters per century. The agency says it may eventually crash into Mars or break up into a ring within 50 million years; that is a long-range possibility, not a precise prediction.
Studying both moons can help researchers understand their relationship to Mars, while the Phobos sample offers material for analysis back on Earth. By combining observations, surface measurements, and returned material, MMX is intended to improve understanding of how the moons formed and how the Martian system evolved.
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