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Japan readies round-trip mission to Mars moon
Japanese scientists want to retrieve samples from Mars's moons that could shed light on the origins of the solar system and life on Earth; the return ticket matters.
On air: Kenji Moonfield and Chip Darnell on Best of BBNPublished
Photo: Kevin Gill from Los Angeles, CA, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBNWatch it as it aired: Kenji Moonfield and Chip Darnell on this story, from Best of BBN at 3:30 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Japan Today's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by Japan Today: “Japan to launch historic round-trip mission to Mars moon”.
- Covered on BBN on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 3:30 AM ET on Best of BBN, by Kenji Moonfield and Chip Darnell.
- Topics: Mars, Japan.
- BBN covered this story before: NASA's Perseverance Rover Sets World Record For Longest Drive On Mars (October 16).
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
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentJapan is readying a round-trip mission to the moons of Mars to bring back samples that could help explain where the solar system and life on Earth came from.
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Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Reto Stöckl / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Pierre Blaché from Paris, France · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Photo: Chris Walts · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Tomas Castelazo · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.5
Photo: Daniel Torok · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
The story so far
- Mars dust doesn't explain one of the solar system's weirdest clouds · Mashable
- Perseverance sets a Mars driving record, no human at the wheel · The New York Times
- Mars cloud puzzle deepens as ASOS hack spams users · Mashable
- Mars explained: the red planet · NASA
- Test footage shows a SkyFall-style helicopter lifting off indoors · Space
- NASA's Perseverance Rover Sets World Record For Longest Drive On Mars · NDTV
- Japan readies round-trip mission to Mars moon (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Sunday, October 18, 2026 · the World archive · all months
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