NASA has chosen 10 researchers from across the US to join the Science Working Team of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission as NASA-supported participating scientists. The MMX mission, scheduled to launch in 2024, will visit the two Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, land on the surface of Phobos, and collect a surface sample. Plans are for the sample to be delivered to Earth in 2029. Seven of the selected scientists will conduct research using the MMX flight instruments, while three will conduct laboratory analyses of the samples brought back from Phobos. In addition to the contributions of the participating scientists, NASA is contributing the Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma rays and Neutrons (MEGANE) spectrograph instrument, the Pneumatic Sampler (P-Sampler) technology demonstration, and other support.
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