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Japan’s MMX Mission Launches to Collect Phobos Sample

1 reports1 sources10/19/2026 updated

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Japan’s space agency JAXA has launched the MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission, aiming to land on Mars’ moon Phobos and return about 10 g of lunar dust to Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to reach Phobos in August 2027, with the sample expected to be delivered to a facility in the Woomera Desert, Australia, by 2031. The mission seeks to shed light on the origins of Mars’ moons and the broader history of the Martian system.

Written with AI from the reporting · updated 10/20/2026

Latest developmentOct 20, 03:45
Japan launches MMX mission to collect Mars moon sample
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  1. 1Unclassified fact stationOct 20, 00:00recorded Oct 20, 13:41single sourcerevised

    MMX任务发射前往火星卫星采集样本

    Read original source ↗ BBC WorldReplay this moment in the explorer
    Evidence & revisions · 1 source records
    Subject：
    Japanese Space Agency
    Action：
    发射前往火星卫星Phobos
    Object：
    采集月尘样本
    Occurred (fact side)：
    Oct 20, 00:00
    BBC World ↗Report pageRevision 2 · currently revised
    Published (valid side)：
    Oct 20, 03:45
    First seen (known side)：
    Oct 20, 13:41
    Fact stationSingle source · one-sided claimRevised

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Oct 20
  1. BBC WorldRelated fact: single sourceSource report revised
    Japan launches MMX mission to collect Mars moon sample

    Report first recorded Oct 20, 13:41

    A Japanese spacecraft launched toward Mars' moon Phobos to collect about 10 grams of surface dust. The mission aims to return the sample to Earth by 2031, which would be the first time material from Mars or its moons is analyzed in laboratories here. Scientists hope the sample will help solve the mystery of how Mars' moons formed.

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