Japan’s space agency has launched a mission aimed at becoming the first to land on one of Mars’ moons and return samples from its surface to Earth.

An H3 rocket carrying the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center on Monday, according to a live broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

If the mission proceeds as planned, at least 10 grams of material from Phobos will be returned to Earth in 2031, with the first landing operation scheduled for around two years from now.

No spacecraft has ever successfully landed on Phobos or Mars’ smaller moon, Deimos. The USSR launched two probes in 1988, but neither completed its mission.

Phobos 1 was lost before reaching Mars after an erroneous command from Earth disabled its attitude-control system.…