NASA Previews Its Role in JAXA’s Martian Moons Exploration Mission

NASA invites media to a teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 15, to discuss its contributions to JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, set to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Monday, Oct. 19 EDT (Tuesday, Oct. 20 JST).

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on NASA’s website.

The briefing will feature the following participants, who will overview the mission and NASA’s contributions:

• Lindsay Hays, acting director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters in Washington
• Tom Statler, MMX program executive and scientist, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters
• David Lawrence, MEGANE (Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma-rays and Neutrons) principal investigator, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
• Kris Zacny, vice president, Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics

Media who wish to join by phone must RSVP at least two hours before the teleconference begins by contacting Molly Wasser at molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.

The MMX spacecraft is slated to reach Mars in August 2027, where it will begin a detailed survey of the planet’s moons, Phobos and Deimos. After completing its reconnaissance of Phobos, the probe will gather a surface sample no earlier than December 2028 and return it to Earth in 2031. NASA’s contributions to the mission comprise the MEGANE gamma‑ray and neutron spectrometer, the spacecraft’s surface sampler mechanism, and Deep Space Network support for communications and navigation, plus funding for U.S. scientists on the MMX science team.

The MEGANE instrument was built by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Honeybee Robotics, a subsidiary of Blue Origin, developed the probe’s pneumatic sampler mechanism. NASA’s involvement in MMX is funded through the Discovery Program, which offers regular flight opportunities for focused, high‑value planetary science missions. The program is administered by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on behalf of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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