Japan Launches Rocket Carrying Lunar Lander and X-Ray Telescope to Explore Origins of Universe

An HII-A rocket blasts off from the launch pad at Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southern Japan, on Sept. 7, 2023. Kyodo News via AP

TOKYO—Japan launched a rocket Thursday carrying an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as well as a small lunar lander.

The launch of the HII-A rocket from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan was shown on live video by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA.