For decades, space scientists have aspired to return material from Mars to Earth.
Since 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been exploring the Martian surface, methodically gathering samples and sealing them in canisters for future retrieval.
However, the joint NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return mission, designed to collect and bring back those canisters, has been effectively shelved after the U.S. Congress withdrew its funding.
China is advancing its own Mars sampling initiative, targeting a 2028 launch with the goal of delivering Martian material back to Earth by 2031.
Earth already holds fragments of the Red Planet in the form of Martian meteorites.
These rocks were ejected from Mars’ surface by asteroid impacts and eventually made their way to Earth.
Although such meteorites are exceedingly rare, they are compromised the moment they reach our planet, becoming contaminated by exposure to air, dust, soil, and water.
This is why researchers are eager to obtain a direct, uncontaminated sample from Mars or its moons—material that would remain scientifically pristine.
The MMX mission is scheduled to lift off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center at 04:41 local time on 20 October (20:41 BST on 19 October).
