WORLDTECHJAXA’S MMX Mars Mission Readies for Launch with Two NASA Instruments
Full credit
File:Launch of a Titan-Centaur Rocket with the Helios‒1 Spacecraft (grc-1974-c-04126).jpg / NASA / Launch of a Titan-Centaur Rocket with the Helios‒1 Spacecraft / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Launch_of_a_Titan-Centaur_Rocket_with_the_Helios%E2%80%921_Spacecraft_(grc-1974-c-04126).jpgSource page.jpg){kind=link}
What happened
Today NASA highlighted its role in the MMX mission, including two scientific instruments, MEGANE and P-Sampler, that will help determine whether Phobos and its companion, Deimos, are captured asteroids or remnants of a collision. In addition to the 382 kilograms (842 pounds) of Moon rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts, NASA completed its own asteroid sample return mission in 2023 with OSIRIS-REx (NASA sample return mission, launched in 2016) bringing back 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of material from Bennu. NASA is a space exploration and public company founded in 1958.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is getting ready to launch its Martian Moons eXploration mission early next week. MMX is JAXA’s third sample return mission.
Hayabusa brought back 1,500 particles of asteroid Itokawa in 2010, followed by Hayabusa2 that delivered 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) from asteroid Ryugu in 2020. NASA also has experience in returning samples from other worlds.
Sources & evidence
- SpacePolicyOnline Reporting source
JAXA’S MMX Mars Mission Readies for Launch with Two NASA Instruments ↗
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/jaxas-mmx-mars-mission-readies-for-launch-with-two-nasa-instruments/