The uncrewed Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe could also help lay the groundwork for eventual human exploration Japanese scientists are readying a mission to Mars's moons to retrieve samples that could help unlock the origins of the Solar System and life on Earth,

Japan's mission to Mars' moons could answer a decades old question dividing the origins of Phobos and Deimos between two conflicting theories, and make history as the first spacecraft to return to Earth from orbit of the Red Planet.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, leads the Martian Moons Exploration mission, or MMX, with NASA as a partner. The rocket lifts off from Tanegashima Space Center at 3:41 p.m. ET on Oct.

A Japanese space mission is about to launch towards Mars. But it will not land on the planet itself. Instead, the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission will focus on Phobos, the bigger of Mars's two small moons.