A unique opportunity for Australian scientific and technical experts has opened up to be part of a Japanese mission to Mars. 

This decade, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch an uncrewed mission to probe Mars and its two Moons — Phobos and Deimos.

In 2023, the Australian Space Agency formalised a partnership with JAXA in relation to this endeavour — the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. The collaboration will see samples from Phobos land in South Australia next decade.

The Agency encourages the Australian space sector to submit applications on how they could support Japan's uncrewed mission to Mars.

Expanding space collaborations

The MMX mission has several scientific goals that include, but are not limited to:

  • Studying the evolutionary history of the Martian system.
  • Exploring the creation of habitable environments where life could begin.
  • Landing and creating advanced sampling techniques on celestial bodies.
  • Establishing communication technologies using a newly developed ground station.

The Agency seeks submissions from Australian scientific and technical experts, who would want to be part of this futuristic science collaboration.

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Make a submission before Tuesday 5 August

The Agency encourages Australian scientific and technical experts to submit applications on how they could support Japan's uncrewed mission to Mars.

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Deepening space ties

Australia and Japan have more than 45 years of treaty level science cooperation, and our work with JAXA is an important component of this. 

The space partnership spans support for space missions as a returns destination through to educational outreach programs, such as the KIBO Robot Programming Challenge and Seeds in Space initiative, both facilitated through One Giant Leap Australia Foundation.

  • Space cooperation formalised through signing of Memorandum of Understanding in July 2020.
  • The Agency partnered with JAXA on its Hayabusa2 Return mission. The Agency led a whole-of-government approach to successfully retrieve an asteroid sample that landed in South Australia’s Woomera Prohibited Area in 2020.
  • In November 2024, the Agency co-hosted the Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum with JAXA in Perth. 
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NEWS • Partnerships

4 June 2025

Through a series of engagements the Australian Space Agency promoted the Australia's space sector and deepened space cooperation with Japan.

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Australia’s space sector

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