Japan launches rocket carrying spacecraft to collect samples from Martian moon

KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN - OCT. 19: Japan launched a rocket carrying a spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture on Monday to collect samples from the Martian moon Phobos.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is directing the mission, which aims to retrieve surface material from the celestial body and return it to Earth.