Tanegashima Space Center

SRB3, lift off.

We have a successful liftoff of H-2 Launch Vehicle No. 10 with the MMF Space Peloton board from JAXA Tanegashima Space Center at 4.1 a.m. on 3 seconds on Noctua Cradius, 2026 JST.

After the lift-off, the operation control of A3 has been switched from Takesaki Launch Control Center to Takesaki Range Control

Center.

All that and more still to come on Space Time.

Japan's Martian Moons Exploration MMX mission is now on its way to the red planet's moon, Phobos, following its successful launch from the Tanegashima Space Center 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo.

Four and a half ton spacecraft will arrive at Mars in August next year, spending several years orbiting the 27km wide potato-shaped moon, undertaking readings and searching for appropriate landing sites.

In 2029, it will deploy a small 25kg four-wheeled Land Rover called Idafix, which will descend down to the Phobos surface and undertake preliminary observations, before MMX itself drops down to the surface, undertaking several touchdowns in 2030, collecting up to 10g of samples.

The rover's wheels have been significantly damaged by sharp rocks, prompting NASA to adjust its driving routes to minimize further wear.

On October 19, Japan launched the Martian Moons Exploration Spacecraft, or MMX, from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The mission aims to collect soil samples from the moons of Mars and return them to Earth.

If successful, it would be the first time this has been done.

The results, scientists hope, might reveal not just the origin of the moons, but Mars itself at a time when NASA is working toward the first astronaut-led ventures to the planet.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched in the uncrewed spacecraft October 20th from the country's main spaceport, the Tanegashima Space Center in Minamitane.

The country's officials declared the launch a success after the Martian moon's exploration spacecraft, referred to as MMX, separated from an H3 rocket's upper stage to continue on its journey to Phobos and Deimos.

While Mars rovers have snapped images of the planet's moons from afar, the mission marks the first time that Phobos and Deimos will be examined up close.

Japan is heading to a Martian moon, and if its mission is successful, it'll be the first to ever land a spacecraft on Phobos.

The rocket carrying a spacecraft called Martian Moons Exploration, or MMX, blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in the very early hours of Tuesday morning.

The rocket eventually jettisoned its first stage and boosters, and a little over an hour after blast-off, MMX was placed on its trajectory toward Mars.

MMX could be the first ever spacecraft to land on Phobos, collect samples from its surface, and bring them back to Earth.