# Japan launches MMX probe to collect first soil samples from Phobos

https://mins.news/en/item/106997

- TASS, 2026-10-19 23:22 UTC
- Science
- Original: https://tass.com/science/2204403

> Japan’s space agency launched the MMX probe aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center. It aims to land on Mars’ moon Phobos, collect soil and return the samples to Earth in 2031.

## Related coverage

- [Mission launches from Japan to collect a sample from Mars’s moon](https://mins.news/en/video/107035) — BBC News, 2026-10-19
- [Japan launches mission to collect first-ever samples from a Mars moon](https://mins.news/en/item/106900) — TRT World, 2026-10-19
- [Japan launches mission to return samples from Mars moon](https://mins.news/en/item/106852) — Reuters, 2026-10-19
