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Japan Launches Probe to Return Samples from Martian Moon Phobos

The MMX spacecraft has launched on a five-year mission to collect soil samples from Phobos, aiming to reveal the origins of Mars' moons.

20 publishers · 30 articles · first seen 16 Oct 2026 · updated 15d ago

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The story so far

20 publishers have covered this in 30 articles since 16 Oct 2026. New Scientist published first, on 16 October at 17:00 UTC; South China Morning Post followed 41h 35m later. The most recent article, from Scientific American, appeared on 23 October at 10:45 UTC.

Outlets reporting it: News Feed (major outlet), The New York Times (major outlet), WIRED (major outlet), Bloomberg Technology (major outlet), CBS News (major outlet), Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera (major outlet), Ars Technica (major outlet), The Economist (major outlet), New Scientist, South China Morning Post, Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories, BBC Science and 8 more, all listed under Sources below.

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How it unfolded

Every source in the order it published.

  1. New ScientistJapan is launching a mission to Mars’s largest moon Phobos
  2. South China Morning PostJapan readies Martian moon mission to uncover origins of life
  3. Phys.org - latest science and technology news storiesJapan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon
  4. Phys.org - latest science and technology news storiesJapan's MMX mission aims to swipe soil samples from Mars's moon Phobos
  5. Phys.org - latest science and technology news storiesJapan to launch historic round-trip mission to Mars moon
  6. BBC ScienceMission set to blast off for Mars to grab a piece of its moon
  7. Times of IndiaJapan’s MMX moon mission to launch on Oct 20, bring Phobos samples back by 2031
  8. News FeedJapan leads mission to make first return trip to Mars
  9. The New York TimesA Japanese Spacecraft Aims to Bring Back a Bit of a Martian Moon
  10. Scientific AmericanThe first mission to sample Mars’s moons launches today
  11. Show 20 later sources
    1. cnet.comJapan Is Launching a Mission to Mars Moons and Plans to Bring Samples Home
    2. WIREDJapan’s MMX Mission Wants to Bring Martian Moon Samples Back to Earth
    3. Phys.org - latest science and technology news storiesJapan to launch world-first mission to moon of Mars
    4. Times of IndiaWatch: Japan launches historic mission to explore Mars’ moons and bring back samples
    5. Latest articlesJapan launches probe in historic bid to collect sample from Mars moon
    6. Scientific AmericanJapan's mission to collect rocks from Mars' moon Phobos achieves liftoff
    7. Sky NewsJapan launches mission to Mars to bring back samples from its moon
    8. Bloomberg TechnologyJapan Launches Probe in First Sampling Mission to a Moon of Mars
    9. CBS NewsJapan launches ambitious robotic mission to Martian moon Phobos
    10. France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlinesJapan launches mission to explore Mars' moons and bring back samples
    11. Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al JazeeraJapan launches historic mission to bring back Mars moon samples
    12. Ars TechnicaJapan launches mission to bring home a piece of the Martian moon Phobos
    13. Deutsche WelleJapan probe sets course for Mars moon
    14. Phys.org - latest science and technology news storiesJapan launches spacecraft to mysterious moons of Mars in a bold mission to bring home soil samples
    15. Times of IndiaJapan launches first-of-its-kind mission to bring back rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos
    16. News FeedJapan sends probe to Martian moon Phobos
    17. The EconomistJapan’s mission to Mars’s moons takes off
    18. www.theregister.comVeteran ESA probe rolls out welcome mat for Japan's Phobos mission
    19. BBC ScienceBBC Inside Science
    20. Scientific AmericanJapan’s MMX mission will reveal the origins of weird Martian moons

Sources

Every article we clustered into this story. Headlines link to the publisher.

  1. Japan’s mission to Mars’s moons takes off The Economist ·
  2. Japan sends probe to Martian moon Phobos News Feed ·
  3. Japan launches mission to bring home a piece of the Martian moon Phobos Ars Technica ·
  4. Japan launches historic mission to bring back Mars moon samples Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera ·
  5. Japan launches ambitious robotic mission to Martian moon Phobos CBS News ·
  6. Japan Launches Probe in First Sampling Mission to a Moon of Mars Bloomberg Technology ·
Show 24 more sources
  1. Japan’s MMX Mission Wants to Bring Martian Moon Samples Back to Earth WIRED ·
  2. A Japanese Spacecraft Aims to Bring Back a Bit of a Martian Moon The New York Times ·
  3. Japan leads mission to make first return trip to Mars News Feed ·
  4. Japan’s MMX mission will reveal the origins of weird Martian moons Scientific American
  5. BBC Inside Science BBC Science
  6. Veteran ESA probe rolls out welcome mat for Japan's Phobos mission www.theregister.com
  7. Japan launches first-of-its-kind mission to bring back rocks from Mars’s moon Phobos Times of India
  8. Japan launches spacecraft to mysterious moons of Mars in a bold mission to bring home soil samples Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  9. Japan probe sets course for Mars moon Deutsche Welle
  10. Japan launches mission to explore Mars' moons and bring back samples France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines
  11. Japan launches mission to Mars to bring back samples from its moon Sky News
  12. Japan launches probe in historic bid to collect sample from Mars moon Latest articles
  13. Japan's mission to collect rocks from Mars' moon Phobos achieves liftoff Scientific American
  14. Watch: Japan launches historic mission to explore Mars’ moons and bring back samples Times of India
  15. Japan to launch world-first mission to moon of Mars Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  16. Japan Is Launching a Mission to Mars Moons and Plans to Bring Samples Home cnet.com
  17. The first mission to sample Mars’s moons launches today Scientific American
  18. Japan’s MMX moon mission to launch on Oct 20, bring Phobos samples back by 2031 Times of India
  19. Mission set to blast off for Mars to grab a piece of its moon BBC Science
  20. Japan to launch historic round-trip mission to Mars moon Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  21. Japan's MMX mission aims to swipe soil samples from Mars's moon Phobos Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  22. Japan to launch spacecraft on a mission to get samples from a Martian moon Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  23. Japan readies Martian moon mission to uncover origins of life South China Morning Post
  24. Japan is launching a mission to Mars’s largest moon Phobos New Scientist

In this story

  • Japan
  • Phobos
  • Mars
  • JAXA
  • MMX
  • ESA
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