Japan launched its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft at 4:41 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, Japan time (3:41 p.m. ET Monday), on a mission to collect the first samples from one of Mars’ moons and bring them back to Earth.

The H3 rocket, flight No. 10, lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency confirmed that the spacecraft separated about 71 minutes and 13 seconds after liftoff and was injected into its planned orbit, according to JAXA’s launch result release . Kyodo News reported that the rocket flew in its most powerful configuration, with two engines and four boosters.

MMX is the first H3 payload sent beyond Earth orbit, AeroTime reported. Its target is Phobos, the larger of Mars’ two moons, which orbits about 6,000 kilometers from the planet’s surface and measures roughly 20 to 30 kilometers across.…