Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/ Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)NASAs MEGANE, developed for the MMX mission to study Mars moons, has actually been delivered to JAXA for combination, representing a milestone in space partnership and scientific exploration.On March 14, NASA delivered its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer instrument to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for integration onto JAXAs MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) objective spacecraft and last system-level testing.NASAs Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma Ray and Neutrons (MEGANE) instrument, established by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, in partnership with colleagues from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, will play a major role in the MMX mission, which intends to figure out the origin and characterize of Mars moons Phobos and Deimos and provide a sample from Phobos to Earth.U.S.”MEGANE will be a key instrument on MMX, making a big contribution toward the goal of comprehending the origin of the Martian moons,” stated Thomas Statler, MEGANE program researcher at NASA Headquarters in Washington.”With MEGANE now in Japan, the MMX team will begin integrating the scientific instruments, consisting of MEGANE, with other spacecraft parts, before putting the entire system through a series of tests in preparation for launch, which is arranged for fiscal year 2026, aboard a JAXA H3 rocket.
Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/ Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK)NASAs MEGANE, established for the MMX objective to study Mars moons, has been delivered to JAXA for combination, representing a turning point in space partnership and clinical exploration.On March 14, NASA delivered its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer instrument to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for combination onto JAXAs MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission spacecraft and final system-level testing.NASAs Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma Ray and Neutrons (MEGANE) instrument, established by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, in cooperation with colleagues from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, will play a major function in the MMX objective, which intends to characterize and identify the origin of Mars moons Phobos and Deimos and provide a sample from Phobos to Earth.U.S.”MEGANE will be an essential instrument on MMX, making a big contribution towards the goal of understanding the origin of the Martian moons,” said Thomas Statler, MEGANE program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.”With MEGANE now in Japan, the MMX team will start incorporating the clinical instruments, including MEGANE, with other spacecraft elements, before putting the whole system through a series of tests in preparation for launch, which is scheduled for fiscal year 2026, aboard a JAXA H3 rocket.