The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's national space agency, known for the Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return probes, the SLIM lunar lander and the H3 rocket launched from Tanegashima.
Key facts
- MMX launched on an H3 rocket from Tanegashima on 19 October 2026 (UTC), the 10th H3 flight; it reaches Mars in August 2027 and returns samples in 2031. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- Target: at least 10 g of regolith from a Martian moon, with flybys of the other; the Idefix rover (CNES and DLR, under 30 kg) lands in 2029. (as of 23 Oct 2026)
- Partners: NASA (MEGANE spectrometer), CNES (NIRS4/MacrOmega), ESA (deep-space communications).
Why exams ask about it
Which moon the mission targets, the launch rocket and the partner agencies are the usual questions.