NASA Briefing to Highlight Contributions to Martian Moons Mission

On Thursday, October 15 at 4 p.m. EDT, NASA will host a media teleconference to provide a preview of its contributions to JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. Scheduled for launch on October 19 at 4 p.m. EDT from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, the MMX mission aims to explore Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos.

Lindsay Hays, acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, will join Tom Statler, MMX program executive and scientist, David Lawrence, principal investigator for the MEGANE instrument from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and Kris Zacny, vice president of Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics, to provide an overview of the mission and NASA's role.

NASA will contribute the MEGANE gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, the spacecraft's surface sampler mechanism, as well as communications and navigation support from NASA’s Deep Space Network. The agency's funding also supports US scientists on the MMX science team.

MEGANE was developed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, while Honeybee Robotics, a subsidiary of Blue Origin, created the spacecraft's pneumatic sampler mechanism. All contributions were funded through NASA's Discovery Program, which manages frequent flight opportunities for high-value, focused planetary science investigations from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. For further details, visit the MMX mission page on NASA’s website.