How did Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos form? The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission aims to answer this very question. Developed by the Japanese space agency JAXA, the spacecraft will explore Phobos from orbit and collect samples from its surface. On board MMX is the IDEFIX rover – a collaboration between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the French space agency CNES. IDEFIX will land on Phobos, analyse its surface properties and help select a suitable landing site for the MMX mothership. The MMX mission is scheduled to launch from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center in 2026. This animation shows the planned mission timeline – from the journey to Mars and its moons, the exploration of Phobos from orbit and on the surface with the IDEFIX rover, to the sample collection by the mothercraft and its return to Earth.
