LUME MISSION OBSERVATORY · 02
MMX
and Idefix.
A Japanese mission is on its way to the moons of Mars. Before MMX collects a sample from Phobos, a small rover built in Europe will meet the surface first.
Enter the mission ↓Original LUME Gravity artistic interpretation · Not mission imagery
01 / THE MISSION
Two moons.
One sample-return journey.
Led by JAXA, the Martian Moons eXploration mission will study both Phobos and Deimos. MMX will observe them from the Martian system, land on Phobos to collect surface material, then carry the sample back to Earth for analysis. Its measurements will help researchers investigate how the two moons formed.
02 / THE EUROPEAN ROVER
Idefix
meets Phobos.
Developed jointly by France’s space agency CNES and Germany’s DLR, Idefix is a compact, four-wheeled rover carried by the MMX spacecraft. It is planned to be released above Phobos around the turn of 2028–2029. After reaching the surface and righting itself, it will move across the terrain and investigate its properties for approximately 100 days.
Idefix will not collect the sample for return. Its close-up study of the surface will help characterise the terrain and support MMX’s later landing and sample-collection operations.
DLR on Idefix and MMX03 / MISSION TIMELINE
A journey measured
in years and minutes.
- Launch
MMX leaves Earth aboard Japan’s H3 launch vehicle.
COMPLETED - Arrival at Mars
The spacecraft reaches the Martian system and begins observations of the moons.
PLANNED - Idefix on Phobos
The rover is released during a rehearsal for MMX’s later landing and surface operations.
PLANNED - Sample collection
MMX is planned to collect at least 10 grams of material from Phobos.
PLANNED - Return to Earth
A return capsule is planned to deliver the sample to Earth for laboratory study.
PLANNED
Future dates are mission plans and may change. The Idefix deployment and MMX sampling are separate operations.
04 / THE OPEN QUESTION
Where did
Phobos come from?
Phobos and Deimos may be captured asteroids, or they may have formed from material thrown into orbit after a large impact on Mars. Their shapes, compositions and the returned Phobos sample will give researchers new evidence to test these ideas. MMX will also observe Deimos, but its planned sample return is from Phobos.
THE RECORD · SOURCES & METHOD
Follow the mission
at its source.
Mission plans and status can change. We distinguish completed events from planned milestones and link scientific and operational details to the agencies responsible for the mission and rover.