Japan launched the MMX spacecraft aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima early on October 20 in Japan, corresponding to October 19 in the United States. Japanese broadcaster FNN reported that the spacecraft reached its planned trajectory.

The JAXA-led mission aims to examine Mars’s moons Phobos and Deimos and bring a sample from Phobos back to Earth. ESA describes the planned sample return as a way to investigate how the moons formed. These scientific goals have not yet been achieved.

Sources & references

  1. FNN — H3 launch and MMX trajectory report
  2. European Space Agency — MMX mission objectives and launch schedule
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