Japan launches spacecraft to collect samples from Mars moon Phobos
Science · 19 October 2026
Written by AI from multiple news reports
Japan launched a spacecraft on Tuesday to collect rock samples from Phobos, a moon of Mars. The rocket lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 am local time.
The spacecraft, called MMX, will arrive at Mars about one year from now. It will then spend up to three years orbiting Phobos before it lands and collects at least 10 grams of surface material. The mission will also fly past Deimos, Mars's other moon, several times. MMX is scheduled to leave Mars orbit in November 2030.
Phobos is a small, potato-shaped moon, roughly 22 kilometres wide. Scientists hope the samples will help explain how Mars's moons formed. Japan has already returned samples from two asteroids, so the country has experience with this type of mission.