Sources
Every fact in our videos is quoted from a source page before the video is made, and checked again by a separate fact checker before it is posted. Here is each video's evidence: the claim, the exact words on the page, and the page itself. Spotted a mistake? Write to contact@hughesnode.com and it will be corrected.
Japan Is Launching a Mission to Bring Back Dirt From Mars's Moon
- MMX launch is scheduled for 20 October 2026 (Japan time)
Scheduled Launch Date: October 20, 2026 (Tuesday)
https://mmx-news.isas.jaxa.jp/?p=2753 - Launch time is 04:41:03 Japan Standard Time
Scheduled Launch Time: 04:41:03
https://mmx-news.isas.jaxa.jp/?p=2753 - Launch time is given in Japan Standard Time
Japan Standard Time (JST), 24-hour format.
https://mmx-news.isas.jaxa.jp/?p=2753 - The same launch is 19 October in Europe (so 19 Oct UTC)
The MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) space probe will launch for Mars on 19 October 2026 at 21:41 CEST.
https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2026/off-to-the-moons-of-mars-mmx-mission-and-idefix-rover-ready-for-launch - MMX is a JAXA-led world-first mission
This is a world first mission led by JAXA.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Nothing has ever been returned from the Mars system
Nothing has ever been returned from the Martian sphere before.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - MMX will be first to land on Phobos and first to bring back Phobos samples (2031)
it will be the first in the world to land on the Martian moon Phobos, and in 2031 will bring the first samples ever obtained from Phobos
https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2026/off-to-the-moons-of-mars-mmx-mission-and-idefix-rover-ready-for-launch - Phobos is the larger of Mars' two moons; 17 x 14 x 11 miles (27 x 22 x 18 km)
Phobos is the larger of Mars' two moons and is 17 x 14 x 11 miles (27 by 22 by 18 kilometers) in diameter.
https://science.nasa.gov/mars/moons/phobos/ - Phobos orbits Mars three times a day
It orbits Mars three times a day
https://science.nasa.gov/mars/moons/phobos/ - Two main hypotheses for the origin of the Martian moons: giant impact and capture
Two major hypotheses have been proposed for the origin of the Martian moons: the giant impact hypothesis (which suggests that the moons formed after a celestial body collided with Mars), and the capture hypothesis (which postulates that the moons are asteroids from the outer Solar System that were captured by Mars's gravity).
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - The origin of the Martian moons is an unsolved problem
The origin of Mars and the planet's two moons has long been considered one of the unsolved problems in the theory of the Solar System's formation.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - The captured-asteroid idea has evidence against it
It may be a captured asteroid, but some scientists show evidence that contradicts this theory.
https://science.nasa.gov/mars/moons/phobos/ - MMX will first deploy the Idefix rover to survey the surface and help the spacecraft land stably
first deploy the IDEFIX rover to survey the surface and help ensure a stable landing for the spacecraft.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Idefix will be the first lander ever to touch down on Phobos, in 2029
which will be the first lander ever to touch down on Phobos, in 2029
https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2026/off-to-the-moons-of-mars-mmx-mission-and-idefix-rover-ready-for-launch - MMX will collect samples from Phobos
Perform the core objective of the mission to collect samples from Phobos.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Sample goal: more than 10 grams
The goal is to return more than 10g of material to Earth.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Samples are of rock and sand
return samples of rock and sand
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Schedule: depart the Mars system in 2030
STEP 04 [2030] Depart the Martian sphere.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Schedule: journey to the Mars system takes about a year, 2027
STEP 02 [2027] Journey for approximately one year to the Martian sphere.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Schedule: re-entry capsule separates in FY2031
STEP 05 [FY2031] Separate the re-entry capsule and begin atmospheric entry.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Five years from launch until return to Earth
over the five years from launch until our return to Earth.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - The capsule is to be recovered in Australia
The capsule is scheduled to be recovered in Australia.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Perseverance filmed Phobos crossing the Sun (30 Sept 2024)
used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it passed in front of the Sun on Sept. 30, 2024
https://science.nasa.gov/resource/perseverance-captures-transit-of-phobos/ - Curiosity time-lapse shows Phobos passing in front of Deimos
In this time-lapse video assembled from images taken by Curiosity, Phobos is seen passing in front of Deimos.
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11326 - Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos
Mars is kept company by two cratered moons—an inner moon named Phobos and an outer moon named Deimos.
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11326 - OSIRIS-REx delivered 121.6 g of Bennu material to Earth
The spacecraft delivered 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) of material from the asteroid Bennu when it returned to Earth
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/ - OSIRIS-REx Bennu sample delivered 24 Sept 2023
The spacecraft delivered the sample to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/ - MMX launches on the H3 rocket from Tanegashima
Launch onboard the H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ - Idefix is a joint DLR and CNES rover
DLR and the French space agency CNES (Centre national d'études spatiales) have jointly contributed Idefix
https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2026/off-to-the-moons-of-mars-mmx-mission-and-idefix-rover-ready-for-launch - MMX will return to Earth with the samples
Return to Earth over the course of one year.
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/
Saturn's Famous Hexagon Now Has a Ten-Sided Cousin
- L1,L7: Hubble observations revealed a 10-sided atmospheric wave around Saturn's south pole; the first large regular-sided jet pattern seen in the southern hemisphere.
Recent observations with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole. This discovery marks the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been observed in the planet's southern hemisphere.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L1: The new feature looks remarkably like Saturn's northern hexagon but is distinctly different (a 'cousin', not a copy).
The feature appears remarkably similar to Saturn’s famous hexagon at its northern pole, but is also distinctly different
https://esahubble.org/news/heic2612/ - L1,L2: Saturn has a six-sided jet stream at its north pole (the hexagon).
Scientists first observed the six-sided jet stream when the two Voyager spacecraft passed by Saturn in 1980 and 1981.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/science/saturn/hexagon-in-motion/ - L2: The hexagon is an enormous spinning hexagon in the clouds at Saturn's north pole.
an enormous spinning hexagon in the clouds at its north pole
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/science/saturn/hexagon-in-motion/ - L2: The hexagon is about twice as wide as Earth.
But their trajectories prevented the Voyagers from capturing the entire monstrous hexagon – twice as wide as Earth – in a single image from above.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/science/saturn/hexagon-in-motion/ - L2: Second source for the size: the hexagon's jet stream could encompass Earth twice (SVS gives about 15,000 miles across; the Cassini feature page gives about 20,000 miles, so the narration says only 'about twice as wide as Earth').
Moving at more than 200 mph, the jet stream is several thousand miles long and could encompass Earth twice.
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11468/ - L3: The northern hexagon has been there every time scientists have looked, for more than 40 years.
The northern hexagon has been there every time we’ve looked for more than 40 years.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L3 (on-screen label): The hexagon was first discovered by the Voyager mission in the early 1980s.
First discovered by NASA’s Voyager mission in the early 1980s
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11468/ - L4: Astronomers have been searching Hubble images for a southern counterpart to the hexagon since 1990.
we have been searching for a counterpart to Saturn’s northern hexagon on the south pole in Hubble images since 1990
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L5: Cassini orbited Saturn between 2004 and 2017 and its images showed no inkling of a long-lived formation at the south pole.
Images from the Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn between 2004 and 2017, showed no inkling of a long-lived formation, either.
https://esahubble.org/news/heic2612/ - L5: Cassini spent 13 years at Saturn.
Its arrival in 2004, marked the beginning of an extraordinary 13 years of discovery
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12735/ - L6: In 2024 amateur astronomers and the lead author noticed a subtle undulating band along the southern pole in ground-based images.
It was in those images, first in 2024, that Sánchez-Lavega and amateur astronomers Trevor Barry and Jean-Paul Oger noticed a subtle undulating band along the southern pole.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L7: Hubble data confirmed the feature's presence back to 2023.
The Hubble data confirmed the feature’s presence back to 2023.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L7: The decagon extends through multiple layers of Saturn's atmosphere, not just the cloud level.
The wave sits within one of Saturn's powerful jet streams and extends through multiple layers of the atmosphere, indicating it is not just a cloud-level feature, but a vertically extended atmospheric structure.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L7 (on-screen label): The wave is centered around 63 degrees south latitude.
The wave is centered around 63 degrees south latitude
https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/decagon-on-saturns-south-pole-single-filter/ - L8: The decagon appears to be strengthening, giving astronomers a rare chance to watch a giant atmospheric pattern develop.
it appears to be strengthening, giving us the rare opportunity to watch a giant atmospheric pattern develop.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L8 (on-screen label): It has become more pronounced since 2023.
Hubble observations also show that the feature was present as early as 2023 and has become more pronounced over subsequent years.
https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/decagon-on-saturns-south-pole-single-filter/ - L9: The decagon seems to have formed recently, and scientists do not yet know why it formed now.
The question is, why did it suddenly form now when we haven’t seen one before?
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L9: Further study is needed to understand how the decagon formed and how long it may last.
to understand how the decagon formed, how long it may last, and how it compares to the long-lived hexagon in the north.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L10: The team plans to keep observing to see whether the decagon settles into a long-lived configuration like the hexagon or keeps evolving.
The team plans to continue observing Saturn to determine whether the decagon settles into a long-lived, stable configuration like the northern hexagon or continues to evolve.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - L11: Saturn reaches opposition on October 4, one of the year's best chances to see the ringed planet.
On October 4th, Saturn reaches opposition, giving skywatchers one of the year's best opportunities to see the ringed planet.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/whats-up-october-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/ - L11: At opposition Saturn rises around sunset and stays visible for much of the night.
That puts Saturn opposite the Sun in our sky, so it rises around sunset and stays visible for much of the night.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/whats-up-october-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/ - Meta: the Hubble result was published in Science Advances.
The results published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - Meta: the NASA article date is Sep 02, 2026.
Sep 02, 2026
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - Meta/OPAL context: Hubble's OPAL program has photographed the outer planets annually for more than a decade.
which has photographed the outer planets annually for more than a decade.
https://esahubble.org/news/heic2612/ - L4 (on-screen label): Hubble launched in 1990.
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/decagon-on-saturns-south-pole-single-filter/ - L7 (on-screen label): Different wavelengths of light show different altitudes in Saturn's atmosphere.
Those different wavelengths probe different altitudes in Saturn's atmosphere.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-tracks-new-decagon-encircling-saturns-south-pole/ - Angle (not narrated): until now NASA's own hexagon page said Saturn has a hexagonal jet stream only in the north, not in the south.
For some reason, Saturn has a hexagonal jet stream only in the north, not in the south.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/science/saturn/hexagon-in-motion/
A Moon Smaller Than Ours May Hold Twice Earth's Oceans
- A famous science-fiction warning: 'All these worlds are yours - except Europa. Attempt no landing there.' It is the radio message at the end of Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two.
"All these worlds are yours - except Europa. Attempt no landing there," reads the radio message beamed to Earth at the end of Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: odyssey two
https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/all-about-nasas-europa-clipper/ - Europa is a moon of Jupiter, about 90% the size of Earth's Moon (so a little smaller than our Moon).
With an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers), Europa is about 90% the size of Earth's Moon.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/mission-faq/ - Under Europa's icy surface there may be an ocean with more than twice as much liquid water as all of Earth's oceans combined.
Scientists think that under the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa a saltwater ocean exists that may contain more than twice as much liquid water as all of Earth's oceans combined.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/ - Europa Clipper launched on Oct. 14, 2024.
Europa Clipper launched Oct. 14, 2024, on a journey to explore Europa, Jupiter's ocean world.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/ - It reaches Jupiter in April 2030.
The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) to reach Jupiter in April 2030.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/ - Europa Clipper is an Orbiter/Flyby mission: it orbits Jupiter and makes 49 close flybys of Europa.
Type Orbiter/Flyby LaunchED Oct. 14, 2024 Target Europa: Arrives 2030
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/ - It will orbit Jupiter and conduct 49 close flybys of Europa.
The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter, and conduct 49 close flybys of Europa.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/ - Closest-approach altitudes are as low as 16 miles (25 km) above the surface.
During the prime mission, the spacecraft will perform approximately 50 flybys of Europa at closest-approach altitudes as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the surface.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/mission-faq/ - Europa Clipper is not a life detection mission; its goal is to learn whether there are places below the surface that could support life.
Europa Clipper is not a life detection mission - its main science goal is to determine whether there are places below Europa's surface that could support life.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/mission-faq/ - After its science mission, NASA plans to dispose of the spacecraft by impacting Ganymede, to avoid contaminating Europa with Earth microbes.
Because it is scientifically important to ensure that the Europa Clipper spacecraft does not come in contact with Europa's surface and contaminate the moon with significant numbers of Earth microbes, NASA's current plan to dispose of the spacecraft after its science mission ends is by impacting with Ganymede.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/press-kits/europa-clipper/mission/ - Framing only: NASA's own Europa page notes science fiction long imagined alien life in an ocean beneath Europa's ice.
Decades ago, science fiction offered a hypothetical scenario: What if alien life were thriving in an ocean beneath the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa?
https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/europa/europa-facts/
Hollywood Nukes Asteroids. DART Nudged One.
- The 1998 film Armageddon features an asteroid the size of Texas, detected only 18 days from a collision with Earth.
In the 1998 film Armageddon, an asteroid the size of Texas is detected only 18 days away from a collision with Earth.
https://www.planetary.org/articles/planetary-defense-in-the-movies - In the film, the plan is to plant nuclear bombs inside the asteroid and blast it in two.
NASA's solution is to send a team of experienced oil drillers to land on the asteroid, drill a deep hole, plant nuclear bombs inside it, and blast it into two halves that will pass safely on either side of Earth.
https://www.planetary.org/articles/planetary-defense-in-the-movies - A DART scientist contrasts the real approach with Armageddon: a gentle nudge, many years in advance.
This is something that you would do five, 10, 15, 20 years in advance - gently nudge the asteroid so it just sails merrily on its way and doesn't impact the Earth.
https://futurism.com/planetary-defense-nasa-asteroid - Kinetic impact (a speedy-but-inert projectile deflecting an asteroid many years in advance) is considered the top deflection solution.
A kinetic impactor is what we think of right now as our top solution," says Cristina Thomas, a planetary astronomer at Northern Arizona University-in other words, using a speedy-but-inert projectile to deflect an asteroid many years in advance.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-dart-mission-could-help-cancel-an-asteroid-apocalypse/ - DART deliberately hit Dimorphos in 2022.
DART deliberately impacted Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/didymos/ - Dimorphos is a moon of Didymos, and neither asteroid is a threat to Earth.
The two asteroids are not a threat to Earth, but because they do pass relatively close to Earth, they were chosen as the target for NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission - the agency's first mission to test planetary defense technology.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/didymos/ - DART hit at roughly 14,000 miles per hour.
Focus now is shifting toward measuring the efficiency of momentum transfer from DART's roughly 14,000-mile (22,530-kilometer) per hour collision with its target.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-confirms-dart-mission-impact-changed-asteroids-motion-in-space/ - The impact altered the asteroid's shape rather than destroying it (it still measures 170 meters wide).
When DART struck Dimorphos, the impact blasted a huge cloud of rocky debris into space, altering the shape of the asteroid, which measures 560 feet (170 meters) wide.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/dart/nasas-dart-mission-changed-orbit-of-asteroid-didymos-around-sun/ - Dimorphos's orbit around Didymos got 33 minutes shorter.
Earlier research showed that the smaller asteroid's 12-hour orbital period around the nearly half-mile-wide (805-meter-wide) Didymos shortened by 33 minutes.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/dart/nasas-dart-mission-changed-orbit-of-asteroid-didymos-around-sun/ - NASA's minimum success threshold was a 73-second change.
Before its encounter, NASA had defined a minimum successful orbit period change of Dimorphos as change of 73 seconds or more.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-confirms-dart-mission-impact-changed-asteroids-motion-in-space/ - DART beat that benchmark by more than 25 times (early data).
This early data show DART surpassed this minimum benchmark by more than 25 times.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-confirms-dart-mission-impact-changed-asteroids-motion-in-space/ - NASA has found 95 percent of asteroids over one kilometer that could come close to Earth.
So far, we've discovered more than a million asteroids, including 95 percent of the asteroids that are greater than one kilometer and that could come close to the Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/is-nasa-aware-of-any-earth-threatening-asteroids-we-asked-a-nasa-scientist-episode-14/ - NASA knows of no asteroid threat to Earth for at least 100 years.
No, luckily there are no known asteroid threats to Earth for at least 100 years.
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/is-nasa-aware-of-any-earth-threatening-asteroids-we-asked-a-nasa-scientist-episode-14/ - Asteroids 140 meters and larger are the ones of greatest concern.
Objects of this size and larger pose a risk to Earth of greatest concern due to the level of devastation an impact would cause, and should continue to be the focus of global search efforts.
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/near-earth-object-observations-program/ - Fewer than half of the estimated 25,000 near-Earth objects 140 meters and larger have been found.
While no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years, less than half of the estimated 25,000 NEOs that are 140 meters and larger in size have been found to date.
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/near-earth-object-observations-program/ - DART's result validates kinetic impact as a way to defend Earth against asteroid hazards.
The team's amazingly precise measurement again validates kinetic impact as a technique for defending Earth against asteroid hazards and shows how a binary asteroid might be deflected by impacting just one member of the pair.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/dart/nasas-dart-mission-changed-orbit-of-asteroid-didymos-around-sun/ - Framing only: Hollywood blockbusters feature Texas-sized asteroids, while big rocks are not a cause for much concern among scientists.
Despite the prominence of Texas-sized asteroidal antagonists in Hollywood blockbusters, big rocks are not a cause for much concern among levelheaded scientists.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-dart-mission-could-help-cancel-an-asteroid-apocalypse/