NASA · Space

NASA Briefing on Martian Moons Mission Contributions

NASA will hold a media teleconference to detail its role in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, scheduled to launch on October 19.

The MMX mission aims to survey Mars's moons, Phobos and Deimos, arriving in August 2027. The spacecraft will collect a surface sample from Phobos no earlier than December 2028, with a planned Earth return in 2031.

NASA's contributions include the MEGANE gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, the surface sampler mechanism, communications and navigation support via the Deep Space Network, and funding for U.S. scientists on the MMX team.

The MEGANE instrument was developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and the sampler mechanism by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company.

NASA's involvement is funded by the agency's Discovery Program, which supports focused planetary science investigations and is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.

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