NASA schedules media briefing to detail contributions to JAXA Martian mission
NASA announced a media teleconference for 15 October to preview its contributions to Japan's uncrewed Martian Moons eXploration mission, which is set for launch later in the month.
FTMQ Space, written by our newsroom0 views
NASA announced on 8 October 2026 that it will host a media teleconference on 15 October at 4 p.m. EDT. According to NASA News, the briefing will preview the agency's contributions to the Martian Moons eXploration mission, led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Audio of the teleconference will stream on the agency website. [1]
NASA News reported that the uncrewed mission is scheduled to launch from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The launch is set for Monday, 19 October EDT, which corresponds to Tuesday, 20 October JST. [1]
The Martian Moons eXploration mission is a robotic space probe designed to bring back the first samples from Phobos, the largest moon of Mars. First announced in June 2015, the probe will land and collect samples on Phobos once or twice, perform flyby observations of Deimos, and monitor the climate on Mars. [5]
In short
- NASA will hold a media briefing on 15 October 2026 regarding its role in the MMX mission.
- The JAXA Martian Moons eXploration mission is scheduled to launch on 19 October EDT from Tanegashima Space Center.
- The robotic MMX probe aims to collect and return the first physical samples from Phobos.
Sources
Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.
- [1]NASA Briefing to Highlight Contributions to Martian Moons MissionNASA News, 4h ago (the report this story comes from)
- [2]NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑12 Splashes Down, Sets Briefing to Discuss MissionNASA (.gov), 8h ago
- [3]Georgia Tech Students to Fly NASA Spacecraft from Campus Mission ControlNewswise, 1d ago
- [4]Georgia Tech Students to Fly NASA Spacecraft from Campus Mission ControlNewswise, 1d ago
Background
- [5]Martian Moons eXploration on Wikipedia
- [6]Boeing Starliner-1 on Wikipedia
- [7]Highlight (band) on Wikipedia
Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 7 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.
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