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Space
Space
Science
Andrew Jones

Japan tests its Mars moon sample-return probe ahead of 2026 launch (photo)

Engineers conduct a thermal vacuum test with JAXA's MMX Mars moon sample-return spacecraft. JAXA posted this image on X on May 15, 2025.

Japan is putting its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft through a series of tests ahead of its launch to Mars next year.

MMX is a complex mission to collect samples from the moon Phobos and deliver them to Earth to solve the riddle of the origin of the tiny Martian satellite.

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