JAXA's MMX Mission to Mars' Moons, with NASA Contributions, Targets October 20 Launch

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is preparing to launch its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission on October 20, aiming to characterize and determine the origin of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos, and return a sample from Phobos to Earth. NASA is a key international partner, contributing the Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma rays and Neutrons (MEGANE) spectrograph instrument and the Pneumatic Sampler (P-Sampler) technology. The mission is expected to advance understanding of the Mars system significantly.