WorldPublished: 20 October 2026 at 12:32

Japan launches mission to bring back samples from Mars's moon Phobos

Japan's H3 rocket launched the MMX probe on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. The three-year mission aims to collect samples from Mars's moon Phobos and study the origins of the Solar System.

Japan's H3 rocket launched the MMX probe into space on Tuesday, 20 October. The launch begins a three-year mission to collect samples from Phobos, a moon of Mars.

The mission's scientific goal is to improve understanding of the origins of the Solar System. Samples from Phobos are meant to serve that purpose.

The source gives no further details about the probe's design, its route or when the samples are due back on Earth. It says only that the mission is planned to last three years.

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