Japan’s Oct.19 Phobos Launch Carries Humanity’s First Physical Martian Samples
On October 19, 2026, Japan's Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft — known as MMX — will lift off from Tanegashima Space Center at 3:41 p.m. ET (19:41 UTC), carrying what scientists say will be humanity's only realistic near-term source of Martian …