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Japan launches mission to grab a piece of Mars's moon
Japan's MMX probe lifts off on an H3 rocket to bring a sample home in 2031; the rover will weigh almost nothing there.
On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on BBN This MorningPublished
Photo: Kevin Gill from Los Angeles, CA, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBNWatch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on this story, from BBN This Morning at 8:59 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are BBC's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by BBC: “Mission set to blast off for Mars to grab a piece of its moon”, with reporting from Space.com.
- Covered on BBN on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 8:59 AM ET on BBN This Morning, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.
- Topics: Phobos, Mars, Japan.
- BBN covered this story before: NASA's Mars rover passes Opportunity's driving record (October 18).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentJapan's MMX spacecraft launches today to land on Mars's moon Phobos and bring back more than ten grams of it.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe Idefix rover weighs twenty-five kilograms here, and fifteen grams on Phobos.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentFifteen grams? So one sneeze and it's gone?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentPhobos is fourteen miles wide, so yes, gravity there is a suggestion. Nobody on that team is allowed to clap.
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Photo: Jonathan71 · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.5
Photo: Arne Müseler · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Photo: IgorZed · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Arne Müseler · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Photo: Asoundd · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.5
The story so far
- Cloud of the Week: feathery carbon dioxide clouds on Mars · commons.wikimedia.org
- Flower named for Messi found in Peru; Japan readies Phobos sample… · MARCA
- France's school protests grow into a national political crisis · Al Jazeera
- Japan's MMX mission aims to return samples from Mars moon Phobos · Space.com
- Swift at Chiefs game, Mars moon mission, priest killed in Ecuador · Yahoo
- NASA's Mars rover passes Opportunity's driving record · FOX Weather
- Japan launches mission to grab a piece of Mars's moon (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Monday, October 19, 2026 · the Tech archive · all months
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