TOKYO, Oct 20 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Tuesday said it successfully launched a spacecraft on the world's first mission to collect samples, including rocks and sand, from one of Mars' moons, Kyodo News reported.
The probe, carried aboard H3 rocket No. 10 for the Martian Moons Exploration mission, or MMX, successfully separated from the rocket and was placed into its planned orbit, the agency said.
The rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Tanegashima, a small island in southwestern Japan, at 4.41 am.
The spacecraft will head for Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons, which orbits approximately 6,000 kilometres from the surface of the planet and has a diameter of about 20 to 30 km. The probe is scheduled to return to Earth with the samples in July 2031.
The launch was originally slated for 2024, but was postponed after the maiden flight of the H3 rocket failed the previous year.
MMX is a joint international mission to investigate the origins of the Martian moons and develop technologies for future space exploration.
The 4,480-kilogramme spacecraft consists of three modules for the journey to Mars, the exploration of Phobos and the return trip. It has four landing legs and stands approximately 5.3 metres tall, with a width of about 9 metres when its solar panels are deployed.
The H3 rocket No. 10 carrying the probe uses a two-engine, four-booster configuration, the most powerful version of the rocket with the greatest propulsion capability.
Under the plan, the spacecraft will enter orbit around Mars in August 2027. A rover jointly developed by French and German teams will then land on Phobos, after which the spacecraft will attempt two landings of its own.
The spacecraft will then observe Deimos, the other moon of Mars, before leaving the planet's orbit in November 2030. On its return to Earth, it will release a capsule containing the collected samples for recovery.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
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