JAXA's MMX Mars-moons spacecraft clears its initial critical operations phase
From the Space digest for Oct 21, 2026
Sources JAXA press release — Completion of the Initial Critical Operations Phase of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Spacecraft Jeff Foust relay of the JAXA release
What happened: JAXA published a press release on October 21 announcing the completion of the Initial Critical Operations Phase of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft — the agency's confirmation that the mission's launch-to-early-operations phase has closed out successfully.
What's genuinely new: A debut — the record carries no thread on the MMX mission, and this window's item is the mission's first appearance here, moving it from launch into confirmed early-mission health JAXA's own release.
Watch: JAXA's follow-up press releases for what the initial critical operations phase covered and the mission's next milestones.