JAXA, Japan's space agency
Japan's national space agency, known for asteroid sample returns and, since October 2026, a mission to bring back rock from a moon of Mars.
What the paper can ask
- 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
Which moon the mission targets, the launch rocket and the partner agencies are the usual questions.
The full story
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.