Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft launched from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H3 rocket at 4:41 a.m. Japan time on October 20. The mission, known as MMX, has begun its interplanetary journey after the launcher placed it on a path toward Mars.

MMX is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency with participation from NASA, France’s CNES, the German Aerospace Center and the European Space Agency. ESA supplied deep-space communications equipment and plans to support command and data links through its Estrack ground-station network.

The spacecraft is intended to study both Phobos and Deimos, enter orbit around Phobos and collect material from its surface. If the sequence succeeds, MMX would become the first spacecraft to orbit Phobos, take a sample there and return to Earth from the Mars system. European scientists are involved in observation planning, data analysis and sample research.

Launch is only the first major milestone. The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars in 2027, followed by orbital operations, close investigations and a technically demanding sample-collection and return campaign. The October 20 success confirms departure from Earth, not completion of the mission’s scientific objectives.