Martian Moons eXploration (MMX)

Can I see it from here?

Edge-of-twilight launch (Sun 22° below the horizon at the pad, before sunrise). A lit plume is possible, especially from far away.

Estimates from a typical ascent toward the likely orbit. Real trajectories, cloud and haze vary; the farther away, the lower and shorter the view.

Mission

MMX is a Japanese scientific mission to land on Phobos, one of the two moons of Mars, to collect samples before bringing them back to Earth. The mission includes a small French/German rover to explore the surface of Phobos.

Launch time (UTC)

Oct 19, 19:41 UTC

Precision

Second

Orbit

Mars

Mission type

Planetary Science

Pad

Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2

Rocket · H3-24

The H3 Launch Vehicle is a Japanese expendable launch system. Each H3 booster configuration has a two-digit and a letter designation that indicates the features of that configuration. The first digit represents the number of LE-9 engines on the main stage, either "2" or "3". The second digit indicates the number of SRB-3 solid rocket boosters attached to the base of the rocket, and can be "0", "2" or "4". All layouts of solid boosters are symmetrical. The letter in the end shows the length of the payload fairing, either short "S" or long "L". For example, an H3-24L has two engines, four solid rocket boosters, and a long fairing, whereas an H3-30S has three engines, no solid rocket boosters, and a short fairing.

Height

63 m

Diameter

5.27 m

Liftoff thrust

12,142 kN

To GTO

7,900 kg

Track record

1 / 1 successful

Success streak

1

First flight

2025-10-26

Reusable

No

Mission timeline

1. T−0Liftoff
2. T+01:56Boosters Separation
3. T+01:58Boosters Separation
4. T+03:17Fairing Separation
5. T+04:52MECO
6. T+04:59Stage 2 Separation
7. T+05:12SES-1
8. T+10:40SECO-1
9. T+1:03:57SES-2
10. T+1:10:21SECO-2
11. T+1:11:12Payload Separation