The 2nd MMX Meeting

Between June 3 – 6, the main conference room at ISAS opened its doors to the second MMX Meeting. The first MMX Meeting had been held in November, merging the System Design Meetings with those for the working groups and subcommittees so that the whole team could be brought together as we prepare for launch next fiscal year. With our team working together from all over the world, the meeting format was hybrid with approximately 50 people from Japan and overseas on the Sagamihara Campus at ISAS, and around 90 people participating online. The four day program ran as, 

Day 1:   Project General Meeting
Day 2:   Mission Instrument Team Meeting
Day 3:   Ground System General Meeting
Day 4:   Operations General Meeting

News on the upcoming system integration tests for the whole spacecraft, tests of the ground stations, and preparations for the different operations during the mission were shared, with information, advice, and opinions shared between the different teams and MMX members.

Questions that had to be considered by all teams, such as “what specific measures should we use to assess the mission success?” were addressed at this all-hands meeting. With only a year left until launch, morale was high and all the teams are working well together.

Our new 1/10 scale model of the MMX spacecraft (constructed earlier this year) was on display in the conference room, and eagerly inspected by all participants, including several commemorative photos and selfies snapped! A facility tour of the Mitsubishi Electric Kamakura Works where the MMX spacecraft is being constructed was also held, taking many of our team members from overseas to see the progress. A tour of the vacuum chamber used in the thermal vacuum tests provided a valuable opportunity to experience the actual testing environment being discussed through the meeting.

The third MMX Meeting is scheduled for January 2026. Can you feel the anticipation?

More Information:
The first MMX meeting