Japan's MMX sample-return mission to the Mars moon Phobos arrives at its Tanegashima launch site on March 31, 2026. Liftoff is expected in November or December of this year. (Image credit: JAXA) Japan's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft has arrived at the Tanegashima spaceport ahead of launch, which will kick off an audacious mission to bag samples from Mars' moon Phobos and deliver them to Earth. MMX recently completed its journey to the spaceport on Tanegashima island on March 31, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced recently on the social media platform X, and will now be prepared for a launch late this year. One sea voyage later, and the #MMX spacecraft arrived at the Tanegashima Space Center on March 31! Covering the trailer container is a sheet bearing our mission mark. We moved to the Spacecraft Test & Assembly Building 2 (STA2) and unpacked the next day. Onto launch site tests!…