New Delhi, Oct. 20 -- Japan launched a historic mission to bring back samples from Mars' Moon Phobos. If successful, Japan will become the first country to get samples from the Martian moon.

Mars has two moons - Phobos and Deimos. Phobos is a lumpy, potato-shaped rock just 14 miles (22 kilometers) or so across. Examining pieces of it can explain how Mars' moons - and possibly moons elsewhere - came to be.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft aboard H3 Launch Vehicle flight No.10 at 04:41:03 JST on October 20, 2026 from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The H3 Launch Vehicle flew as planned, and approximately 71 minutes and 13 seconds after liftoff, the separation of the MMX s...