Meet the people behind MMX

Led by JAXA, MMX is Japan's largest space exploration mission, taking on the challenge of returning samples from a Martian moon. Building on the technology for landing and sampling small celestial bodies developed with the asteroid exploration missions, Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, JAXA is working alongside international space agencies, industry partners, and the scientific community to make the mission a success.

Group photo of the MMX team

MMX Project Members

Group photo of the MMX project members
  • Project ManagerKawakatsu Yasuhiro
  • Deputy Project ManagerOtake Hisashi
  • Principal InvestigatorKuramoto Kiyoshi

MMX Project Structure

MMX Project Team

Spacecraft System
Spacecraft System
Mission Instruments
Mission Instruments
Operations
Operations
Ground System
Ground System
Science
Science
Curation
Curation

MMX Partnerships

  • NASA
  • CNES
  • DLR
  • ESA
  • Australian Space Agency

MMX has established international partnership agreements with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the European Space Agency (ESA). These agreements create a cooperative framework for enabling close collaboration across key mission areas, including the provision of onboard equipment, deep-space communication support, and ground station operations.

NASA

USA / National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  • Gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer (MEGANE)
  • Pneumatic sampler (P-Sampler)
  • Ground station support (including control, receiving mission data)

CNES

France / Centre National d'Études Spatiales

  • Near-infrared spectrometer (MIRS)
  • MMX rover (IDEFIX) (in collaboration with DLR)
  • Proximity operation support

DLR

Germany / German Aerospace Center

  • MMX rover (IDEFIX) (in collaboration with CNES)
  • Provision of test facilities (drop tower, microgravity simulation)

ESA

Europe / European Space Agency

  • Deep space communication equipment (Ka band)
  • Ground station support (control, receiving mission data)

ASA

Australia / Australian Space Agency

  • ※ International cooperation to be finalised

※ Each organisation is also supporting the activities of participating scientists.

Science Board

At MMX, we work closely with the scientific community in Japan and around the world through the establishment of our Science Strategy Team and seven Working Teams (WT). These teams lead mission operation studies, and to conduct continuous reviews to ensure that the scientific objectives of the MMX mission are fully realised.

Group photo of the Science Board

Science Strategy Team (SST)

  • Origin of Phobos and Deimos Science Strategy Team

    This team develops an integrated science strategy combining remote-sensing observations and returned-sample analyses to reveal the origin of the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos. (Team Leader: Nakamura Tomoki)

  • Early Solar System Evolution Science Strategy Team

    This team develops the science strategy for utilising the returned Phobos samples and other MMX data for investigating planet formation and the evolution and transport of primitive materials in the early Solar System. (Team Leader: Genda Hidenori)

  • Surface Science and Geology Science Strategy Team

    This team develops the science strategy for investigating the morphology, geology, and surface properties of Phobos and Deimos to understand how their surfaces formed and evolved. (Team Leader: Miyamoto Hideaki)

  • Mars System Science Strategy Team

    This team develops the science strategy for investigating the Martian atmosphere, surface, and material exchange with its moons to better understand the evolution of the Mars system. (Team Leader: Imamura Takeshi)

  • Geodesy Science Strategy Team

    This team develops the geodetic strategy for precisely determining the shapes, gravity fields, rotations, and spacecraft orbits of the Martian moons, supporting studies of their interiors, science observations, and landing-site selection. (Team Leader: Matsumoto Koji)

Working Team (WT)

  • Mission Operation Preparation Working Team

    Comprising of members from both the Systems and Science groups, this team is conducting studies for operation preparation.

  • Mission Operation Working Team

    Comprising of members from both the Systems and Science groups, this team is conducting studies for mission instrument observation operations in the Martian sphere.

  • Landing Operation Working Team

    Comprising of members from both the Systems and Science groups, this team is conducting studies related to the landing operations.

  • Rover Operation Working Team

    This team is studying the operation of the onboard MMX rover (IDEFIX).

  • Landing Site Selection Working Team

    Comprising of members from both the Systems and Science groups, this team is conducting studies related to the selection of the landing site.

  • Data Processing Working Team

    This team is planning for the processing of the mission data received from the spacecraft.

  • Sample Analysis Working Team

    This team is planning for the analysis of the delivered samples.

Science Community Affiliated Institutes

  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
  • The University of Tokyo
  • Hokkaido University
  • Institute of Science Tokyo
  • The University of Aizu
  • Nagoya University
  • National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
  • Chiba Institute of Technology
  • Osaka University
  • Rikkyo University
  • Tohoku University
  • Ibaraki University
  • Kyoto University
  • Kobe University
  • Gakushuin University
  • National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
  • Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken)
  • Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS)
  • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL)
  • German Aerospace Center (DLR)
  • Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA)