Japan Successfully Launches Flagship H3 Rocket In Historic Mars Moon Mission

Japan successfully launched the unmanned Martian Moons eXploration probe aboard an H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center at 4:41 a.m. Tuesday.

The spacecraft is designed to orbit Phobos and retrieve at least 10 grams of surface material to help unlock the origins of the Solar System.

The probe is scheduled to arrive near Mars around August next year, carrying a French-German rover named IDEFIX to conduct surface observations.