Japan launches a mission to bring back soil from a moon of Mars

Japan's space agency JAXA launched its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe on an H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. It is due to reach Mars in 2027, land on the moon Phobos, collect at least 10 grams of soil and return the samples to Earth in 2031, landing in Australia. Scientists hope to learn whether Mars' moons formed from an ancient impact or are captured asteroids. NASA supplied two instruments and one of the two sample-collection devices.