NASA will hold a media teleconference on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 4 p.m. EDT to discuss the agency’s role in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. The mission is set to launch from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Oct. 19 EDT.
Teleconference Details
The teleconference will provide an overview of the MMX mission and highlight NASA’s contributions. Participants include Lindsay Hays, acting director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, Tom Statler, MMX program executive and scientist, David Lawrence, principal investigator for the MEGANE instrument from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and Kris Zacny from Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics.
Media members wishing to join the call via phone must RSVP to Molly Wasser at least two hours before the teleconference.
Mission Overview
The MMX spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at Mars in August 2027, where it will conduct a detailed survey of the planet’s two moons, Phobos and Deimos. The spacecraft aims to collect a sample from Phobos no earlier than December 2028, with plans to return the sample to Earth by 2031. NASA’s contributions include the MEGANE gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, the surface sampler mechanism, and support from the Deep Space Network for communications and navigation.
The MEGANE instrument was developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, while the pneumatic sampler mechanism was created by Honeybee Robotics, a company under Blue Origin. Funding for NASA’s contributions to the MMX mission is provided by the agency’s Discovery Program, which supports focused planetary science investigations.
Source: NASA
