NASA to Highlight Contributions to JAXA’s Martian Moons Mission

NASA will host a media teleconference on Oct. 15 at 4 p. m. EDT to preview its role in JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, scheduled to launch from Tanegashima Space Center on Oct. 19. The briefing will feature NASA officials, including Acting Director Lindsay Hays, MMX program executive Tom Statler, and MEGANE principal investigator David Lawrence, who will outline the agency’s contributions. NASA’s involvement includes the MEGANE gamma‑ray and neutron spectrometer, the spacecraft’s pneumatic sampler mechanism developed by Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics, and Deep Space Network communications and navigation support. The MMX spacecraft will arrive at Mars in August 2027, survey Phobos and Deimos, collect a sample in December 2028, and return it to Earth in 2031. NASA’s funding comes from the Discovery Program, managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.