Weird NewsVIRAL WATCH
ExoMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander reached Mars on this day
The Trace Gas Orbiter entered Mars orbit that day and is still searching for methane; the Schiaparelli lander, sadly, was not part of that sequel.
Watch it as it aired: Kenji Moonfield and Hank Ledger on this story, from Late Night BBN at 10:44 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Space.com's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by Space.com: “On this day in space! Oct. 19, 2016: Europe's ExoMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander arrive at Mars”, with reporting from Archyde and Russian Space Web.
- Covered on BBN on Monday, October 19, 2026, at 10:44 PM ET on Late Night BBN, by Kenji Moonfield and Hank Ledger.
- Topics: Europe, Mars.
- BBN covered this story before: Japan launches mission to collect rocks from Mars's moon Phobos (October 19).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- Space.comOn this day in space! Oct. 19, 2016: Europe's ExoMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander arrive at Mars
- ArchydeExoMars Orbiter Reaches Mars and Schiaparelli Crashes facts used on air
- Russian Space WebExoMars-2016 Mars landing facts used on air
What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSpace.com says that on this day in twenty sixteen, Europe's ExoMars orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander arrived at Mars, and we have the orbiter's pictures.

Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentRoll it. Look at this, cratered terrain with ridges, and the camera just glides over it. That's a clean pan.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's a rock with holes in it.

Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWatch the dark streaks here, across the light ground. That is elite texture. Run it back.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWhere's the lander? It weighed five hundred seventy-seven kilograms and had a six-minute descent planned. I'm looking for it.

Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentNot in frame. Officials suspect it never fired its descent thrusters, and a data glitch was cited as the cause.

Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo this is the only clean landing footage.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThere's no landing in it.

Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentViral Score, seven out of ten. Four points for the ridges, three for the lander staying out of shot.
More Shorts
All videos →The story so far
- Swift at Chiefs game, Mars moon mission, priest killed in Ecuador · Yahoo
- NASA's Mars rover passes Opportunity's driving record · FOX Weather
- Clayface and The Terminal List lead this week's Europe picks · Euronews
- Japan launches mission to grab a piece of Mars's moon · BBC
- Study finds most of Europe's wild bee species in decline · The Guardian
- Japan launches mission to collect rocks from Mars's moon Phobos · The Guardian
- ExoMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander reached Mars on this day (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Monday, October 19, 2026 · the Weird News archive · all months

Photo: by ~Nisa at Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Neil Simmons · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Planmdq · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: EverJean · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: 松岡明芳 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN