Japan unveils Mars moon sample-return spacecraft ahead of Oct. 19 launch (photos)

The world just got its first good looks at some hardware that will make spaceflight history.

Last Thursday (Aug.

13), Japan unveiled the spacecraft that make up its Martian Moons eXploration ( MMX ) mission, which aims to snag samples of the Mars moon Phobos and haul them to Earth — something that has never been done.

The big reveal came at Tanegashima Space Center, the site from which MMX will launch toward the Red Planet atop an H3 rocket .

And we just got some clarity about when that liftoff will take place.

Another look at MMX's Propulsion Module (back) and Exploration and Return Modules (front) at Tanegashima on Aug.

13, 2026. (Image credit: Yuichi YamazakiI/AFP via Getty Images) If all goes according to plan, MMX will launch on Oct.

19 at 3:41 p.m.

EDT (1941 GMT; 4:41 a.m. on Oct.

20 Japan time), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXA ) announced on Thursday (Aug.

20).

That's the first day of the mission's launch window, which extends through Nov.

7.

JAXA originally intended to launch MMX in 2024 but had to stand down due to issues with the H3 .