日本宇宙航空研究开发机构（JAXA）与其国际合作伙伴即将启动「火星卫星探测计划」（MMX），从种子岛宇宙中心发射探测器前往火星及其两颗卫星火卫一（Phobos）与火卫二（Deimos）。尽管自1980年代以来俄罗斯三次前往火卫一的探测任务均告失败，科学家们仍热切希望解开这两颗卫星的起源之谜：究竟它们是被火星引力捕获的小行星，还是早期火星与巨大天体撞击后留下的残骸。

为了平息这场科学争论，MMX探测器将搭载包括MEGANE在内的多种科学仪器，透过测量中子与伽马射线来分析火卫一的元素组成。此外，探测器在利用机载仪器与探测车先行勘察地形后，将登陆火卫一并采用两种不同的采样方法收集至少10克的表面物质，预计于2031年将样本带回地球，这将成为人类史上首次从月球以外的卫星带回样本。

研究人员认为，分析火卫一表面可能含有的火星物质与早期太阳系残留物，不仅能揭示火星数十亿年来的演化过程，也能增进对太阳系物质起源与传输的了解。尽管面临对火卫一表面知之甚少及著陆选址等艰巨挑战，但凭借NASA、欧洲太空总署（ESA）与法德机构的跨国专业合作，以及JAXA在「隼鸟号」与「隼鸟2号」小行星采样返回任务中累积的成功经验，团队对完成这项世界首创的挑战充满信心。

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its international collaborators are gearing up to launch the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission from the Tanegashima Space Center to Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Despite three failed attempts by Russia since the 1980s, scientists remain eager to solve the mystery of the moons' origins: whether they are asteroids captured by Martian gravity or debris left over from a massive collision with early Mars.

To settle this scientific debate, the MMX spacecraft will use a suite of instruments, including MEGANE, to determine the elemental composition of Phobos by measuring emitted neutrons and gamma rays. Furthermore, after surveying the terrain with onboard instruments and an advance rover, the spacecraft will land on Phobos to collect at least 10 grams of material using two sampling methods, aiming to return the first-ever samples from an alien moon to Earth by 2031.

Researchers believe that analyzing Phobos' surface soil, which likely contains Martian material and early solar system remnants, will shed light on how Mars evolved over billions of years and how early solar system material originated and moved. Although the mission faces daunting obstacles such as unknown surface conditions and landing site selection, the combined expertise of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), French and German agencies, alongside JAXA's proven track record with the Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 sample-return missions, gives the team strong confidence in succeeding.