Here's what's launching Oct. 19–25: JAXA launches its Martian Moons eXploration mission from Tanegashima, Rocket Lab returns to New Zealand, and China lines up four launches amid a busy week for SpaceX.

| Published: October 19, 2026

JAXA’s H3 rocket rolls out at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, carrying the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft inside its payload fairing. The launch sent MMX toward Mars to study the moons Phobos and Deimos. Credit: JAXA

Rocket launches this week

On Monday, Oct. 19 , the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission aboard an H3-24L rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 3:41 p.m. EDT. MMX will study the martian moons Phobos and Deimos and is designed to return a sample from Phobos by 2031.

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On Tuesday, Oct.…