Japan has successfully launched its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to study Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Scheduled to arrive in August 2027, "MMX will become the first spacecraft to land on and return samples from Phobos for study back on Earth, which scientists think could shed light on a decades-old mystery about the moons' origins" and resolve whether they were formed from a giant impact or were captured asteroids, reports Space.com. From the report: It was the 10th liftoff of Japan's expendable, two-stage H3 rocket, which was jointly developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. After clearing its launch pad today, the 207-foot-tall (63 meters) launch vehicle flew a nominal trajectory through its ascent corridor over the Pacific Ocean, jettisoning its four solid boosters in pairs just before the flight clock reached two minutes. The rocket shed its payload fairings about one minute and 20 seconds later, exposing MMX to the vacuum of space for the first time. [...] MMX is now under its own power, and on course for Mars. The interplanetary transit will last about 10 months, with the spacecraft scheduled to arrive at the Red Planet in August 2027. When it does, MMX's propulsion module will execute an orbital insertion burn to place itself in a quasi-satellite orbit (QSO) around Phobos, which places MMX within the space around the moon as both circle Mars. MMX will spend about three years in the Martian system, devoting much of that time to studying the 14-mile-wide (22 km) Phobos with its science instruments. The spacecraft also carries the IDEFIX rover, a joint effort of the space agencies of France and Germany, which is scheduled to deploy to the surface of Phobos in late 2028 or early 2029. After a mapping campaign to select suitable landing sites, MMX will perform two separate touchdowns on Phobos to collect and stow samples in the spacecraft's return capsule. Following its second landing and sample collection, MMX will briefly return to QSO with Phobos before transferring to a more elongated orbit around Mars that intersects with the planet's smaller moon, Deimos, which is just 8 miles (14 km) in diameter. During the last several months of its time around Mars, MMX will perform a series of Deimos flybys before departing for Earth in November 2030. If all goes according to plan, the MMX sample-return capsule will land in Australia in 2031. You can watch a recording of the launch on YouTube.

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Japan launched a $578 million mission Monday on a five-year expedition to land on the largest moon of Mars and retrieve samples for return to Earth, a daring international project that could yield new insights into the formation of the Solar System.

The robotic Martian Moons eXploration mission, known as MMX, lifted off at 3:41 pm EDT Monday (4:41 am Japan Standard Time Tuesday) from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

The MMX spacecraft rode into orbit atop a 207-foot-tall (63-meter) H3 rocket, Japan's flagship launch vehicle. The rocket assigned to MMX debuted a new souped-up configuration with four strap-on solid rocket boosters, full-throttle main engines, and an extended payload shroud to accommodate the demands of Japan's heaviest and most ambitious interplanetary mission to date.

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Scientists hope Martian material collected will shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth

Japan has successfully launched a spacecraft on an unprecedented mission to bring back samples from one of Mars’s moons that scientists hope will shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.

The Martian ⁠Moons Exploration (MMX) spacecraft, propelled by Japan’s flagship H3 rocket, lifted off before dawn from Tanegashima island in the country’s far south-west, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said.

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© Photograph: KYODO/Reuters

© Photograph: KYODO/Reuters

© Photograph: KYODO/Reuters

Chinese food in orbit, hard-working robots, and lightning strikes a rising rocket. As the Earth's northern hemisphere moves through autumn, let's check in on humanity's exploration of space.

Sun An international team found gorgeous images of the photosphere and "small-scale magnetized Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in the solar photosphere." (previously). Mercury The European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) BepiColombo mission arrived at Mercury. However, that planet closest to the Sun seems to be shrinking faster than previously understood. Venus A new study argues that Venus may have been covered with oceans a long time ago. A moon may once have orbited ancient Venus but spiraled in to its destruction. On Earth's surface In Canada an amateur astronomer identified an impact crater; "[a]fter consultations with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, the research team is calling the crater Uhackatik." Wildfires in Spain threatened a NASA observatory. In Chile an observatory started its "Legacy Survey of Space and Time," a decade-long project to "create the most comprehensive, cinematic record of the universe in history." Japan's experimental RV-X rocket lifted off, moved horizontally, then safely landed nearby in a test. RocketLab announced it was offering a portable spaceport, the Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology, or GHOST. Indian company Skyroot hopes to produce one launch vehicle per month. NASA's Office of Inspector General called for upgrades to launch facilities as Artemis missions and private rocketry increase pressure on the system. NASA stated that it won't fly humans on the Boeing Starliner until 2028. The Trump administration issued a national space transportation policy. Demand for space launches might soon exceed rocket capacity. From Earth's surface to orbit German's Isar Aerospace successfully launched a Spectrum rocket from Norway into Earth orbit, the first such mission from a Western European site. Lighting struck a Long March rocket as it ascended, but the craft went on to a successful orbital deployment. Another Long March suffered an anomaly and exploded (archive link). A Taiwanese rocket launch failed (archive). NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched, deployed solar panes and heatshield, and is on its way to an L2 point position with plenty of fuel. (previously). A Falcon rocket accomplished two achievements in August: 100 SpaceX missions that year to date, and the 37th mission for booster B1067. Starship's 13th mission reached orbit, deployed Starlink satellites, and returned to Earth. A camera captured the first 15 seconds of Starship's engines firing from close up; cameras on some of those Starlinks looked back at their launch vehicle (another copy). A Google satellite reached orbit, carrying a group of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) running Gemma AI in a test of orbital data center capacity. In Earth orbit The Tiangong space station now serves more than 200 different meals. Russia's Rassvet satellites are apparently struggling to reach needed altitude. Polish company Orbital Matter is testing out materials 3d printed by its Replicator 2. Kyoto University researchers are using Starlink data to study Earth's thermosphere. NASA and Katalyst conceded defeat in an effort to rescue the failing Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Swift is still doing its best to track gamma-ray bursts. (previously) A United States Space Force exercise saw one satellite successfully launch, target, and intercept another. Space Force also declared it had placed "space control weapons" in orbit. back down to Earth A NASA astronaut in orbit observed cities changing their lighting technologies. The number of alerts for space debris falling to Earth has increased. The United States Federal Communications Commission granted Reflect Orbital permission to orbit its Eärendil-1 satellite, designed to reflect solar light onto the Earth's night side. Reflect then bought space on a Skyroot launch. SpaceX is struggling to make Starship's heat shield reusable. A petition warned that expanding satellite numbers with orbital data centers would cause Earthly damage, including pollution and ozone layer depletion. More than 40 million years ago it seems that an asteroid struck what is now known as the North Sea. Earth's Moon In 2024 an asteroid struck the moon, "the largest contemporary impact crater found in the Solar System and, according to current models, a once-in-132-year event.' A Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the moon (photo). A lunar hole, Marius Hill Pit, may become a habitat for human visitors. NASA's Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration mission (CADRE) will rove the lunar surface to some degree of autonomy. NASA is also considering sending Promise, an engineering model for Perseverance, to the moon. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) delayed launching its Chang'e 7 (嫦娥七号) lunar mission until 2027. Mars Perseverance set a new record for offworld driving, having notched up 28.10 miles in over 14 years (seen from HiRISE). The rover also took photos of Phobos crossing in front of Earth. Not to be outdone Curiosity came across "honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures." Speaking of Martian moons, Japan's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is due to launch today (previously). Pioneer Labs announced they made their first microbe for a Mars mission. Planetary geological and former NASA program administrator Adriana C. Ocampo Uría called for an international approach to human settlement of Mars; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman rejected that. To the asteroids Tianwen-2 (天问二号) reached asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and is scheduled to attempt a sample return. Astronomers were able to image 44 Nysa clearly enough to find it was unusually triple-lobed and had its own tiny moon. China's National Space Administration (CNSA) is considering a two-ship mission to strike and observe a near Earth asteroid. Jupiter The Juno probe marked ten years orbiting and working around Jupiter. Saturn Astronomers working with Hubble imagery discovered a new ten-sided atmospheric shape on Saturn's southern pole. Neptune The large moon Triton may have wrecked preexisting Neptunian moons when it first arrived, leaving tiny moons as orbital wreckage behind. (previously) In the Kuiper belt NASA's New Horizons safely awoke from hibernation mode as it traveled nearly 6 billion miles from Earth. It may become the third human craft to exit the solar system. However, funding cuts threaten two instruments.

Japanese space agency leading five-year mission to Phobos, one of ‘most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system’

Japan is to launch a spacecraft on the world’s first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars.

Scientists hope the mission, which is expected to take five years, will provide clues to how Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos formed, and hopefully even shed light on the origins of life in the solar system.

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© Photograph: NASA/AP

© Photograph: NASA/AP

© Photograph: NASA/AP

The Japanese space agency JAXA is sending a spacecraft to Phobos to collect a few tablespoons of dust in hopes that they can tell us about the origin of the red planet's lumpy little moons and give us clues about past life on Mars.