- International Space Collaboration: Join us as we explore the successful launch of the Kinetica 1 rocket by Chinese commercial launch provider CAS Space, which carried a unique payload including two Pico satellites designed and built in Mexico. These innovative satellites aim to capture a selfie and merge science with art, showcasing the power of international partnerships in space exploration.
- - The Enigmatic X37B: Delve into the mysteries surrounding the US Space Force's X37B spaceplane, set to embark on its seventh mission. This uncrewed vehicle will carry the groundbreaking Deep Space Atomic Clock 2 experiment, which could revolutionise navigation in deep space by allowing spacecraft to determine their position autonomously.
- - Understanding Chiron's Retrograde: Unpack the intriguing phenomenon of Chiron being in retrograde motion. We’ll explain what Chiron is—an unusual centaur with characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet—and how its apparent motion is merely an optical illusion caused by the relative positions of Earth and Chiron.
- - Ceres: A Potential Cradle for Life: Investigate new research on the dwarf planet Ceres, revealing that it may have once had the essential ingredients for life. With evidence of liquid water, organic materials, and a historic supply of chemical energy, Ceres opens up new possibilities for understanding habitability in our solar system.
- For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna and Avery signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Kinetica 1 Launch Details
[CAS Space](http://www.cas-space.com/)
X37B Mission Overview
[US Space Force](https://www.spaceforce.mil/)
Chiron Research
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Ceres Findings
[NASA Dawn Mission](https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/)
Astronomy Daily
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 your essential guide to the latest news from
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 across the cosmos. I'm, um, your host, Anna.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 Avery: And I'm Avery. It's fantastic to have you
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 with us for another episode. We have a very
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 diverse lineup of stories for you today,
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 spanning from low Earth orbit to the depths
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 of the asteroid belt.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 Anna: That's right, Avery. We'll be starting with
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 a, uh, brilliant display of international
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 partnership as a Chinese rocket
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 successfully launches a, uh, payload,
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 including some very special satellite
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 designed and built in Mexico.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 Avery: Then we'll delve into a bit of mystery. The
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 U.S. space Force's secretive
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 X37B spaceplane is about to embark
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 on its seventh mission. We'll talk about what
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 we know and what we don't, including a
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 groundbreaking NASA experiment it's carrying
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 that could change the future of deep space
00:00:51 --> 00:00:52 navigation.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 Anna: From there, we'll turn our eyes to a
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 celestial object you may have heard about
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 online recently. Chiron is in
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 retrograde. We're going to break down what
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 Chiron actually is. It's a
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 fascinatingly weird little world and explain
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 the astronomical reality behind
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 retrograde motion.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 Avery: And for our final story, we're visiting an
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 old friend, the dwarf planet Siris.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 Exciting new research suggests that it may
00:01:19 --> 00:01:20 have once possessed all the necessary
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 ingredients to fuel life, offering a
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 tantalising glimpse into its ancient past.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 It's a packed show, so let's get right to it.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 Anna: Let's kick things off with that story of
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 international collaboration. On Tuesday
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 afternoon, Chinese commercial launch provider
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 CAS Space successfully conducted
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 the eighth flight of its Kinetica 1 rocket,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 Centre in the Gobi Desert.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 Avery: It was a full ride, carrying seven different
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 satellites into orbit. The payload included
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 things like a Synthetic Aperture Radar
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 satellite and an Earth Observation Satellite.
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 But the real headline grabbers were two tiny
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 spacecraft designed and built in Mexico by
00:02:02 --> 00:02:03 the private firm Thumbset.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 Anna: And when we say tiny, we mean it. These
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 are Pico satellites, each weighing about
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 100 grammes. It really goes to show how
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 miniaturisation is democratising access
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 to space. But, Avery, these
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 thumbsats have some pretty unconventional
00:02:21 --> 00:02:22 missions, don't they?
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 Avery: They really do. According to the company,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 thumbsat one is carrying what they call a
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 selfie payload. Its goal is to capture
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 a mirror selfie of itself in orbit, which
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 is just fantastic. Meanwhile,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 Thumbsat 2 features an artistic payload
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 aiming to blend science with creativity. I
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 just love this approach. It's a powerful
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 statement that space exploration is a human
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 endeavour about expression as much as it is
00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 about data collection.
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 Anna: It's a beautiful sentiment. The collaboration
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 extended to the hardware as well. Cast
00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 Space reported that they used a custom built
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 satellite deployer designed through close
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 cooperation between their engineers and the
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 team from thumbsat. This wasn't just a
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 taxi service, it was a true partnership.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 Avery: And the engagement doesn't stop once the
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 satellites are in orbit. Thumbsat is planning
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 to install ground receiving stations across
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 Mexico. This will allow students, hobbyists
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 and enthusiasts to track the from orbit using
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 free antennas and software. It's an
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 incredible STEM outreach initiative baked
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 right into the mission.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 Anna: Cast Space is rightfully describing this as
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 a landmark in Sino Mexican space
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 cooperation. And it's a significant
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 milestone for China's commercial space
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 sector, giving them a foothold in the North
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 American market. The Kinetica 1 rocket
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 is proving to be a highly reliable and sought
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 after vehicle.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 Avery: No kidding. With this flight, it's now
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 deployed 70 satellites weighing a total of
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 more than seven metric tonnes. For the space
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 nerds out there, the rocket is 30 metres
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 long, weighs 135 tonnes at
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 liftoff and can carry up to 1.5
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 tonnes to a 500 kilometre Sun Synchronous
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 orbit. It's a real workhorse, alright,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 From a very public and collaborative mission
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 to one that is famously secretive.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 Our next story focuses on the US Space
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 Force's X37B orbital test
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 vehicle. This uncrewed, reusable
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 spaceplane is set to launch on its seventh
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 mission, this time aboard a powerful Falcon
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 Heavy rocket from Kennedy space centre.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 Anna: The X37B is an enigma.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 It looks like a miniature,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 unpiloted version of the Space shuttle.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 And its primary purpose is to test and
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 deploy new space technologies. But
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 the vast majority of its payloads and
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 specific mission objectives are, uh,
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 classified. What we do know is that it's
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 capable of staying in orbit for extraordinary
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 lengths of time. Its last mission set a
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 new record. Landing after
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 908 days in space.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 Avery: That's incredible. Nearly two and a half
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 years. So for this seventh mission, most of
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 the manifest is a secret, as usual. However,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 NASA has publicly announced one of its
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 experiments that's flying on the X37B's
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 service module. And it's a big one. It's
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 called the deep Space Atomic Clock
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 2.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 Anna: This piece of technology, which is about the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 size of a toaster, could be a
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 complete game changer for how we navigate
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 in deep space. Currently,
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 navigating a spacecraft far from Earth
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 requires a two way conversation. We
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 send a signal from Earth, it's received by
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 the spacecraft, sent back, and we measure
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 the round trip time to determine its position
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 and velocity.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Avery: But as you get further out, say to Mars,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 that Round trip time m can be 40 minutes
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 or more. It's inefficient and not
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 practical for complex manoeuvres or
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 eventually for crewed missions that need more
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 autonomy. This new atomic clock is
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 designed to be far more stable and precise
00:06:06 --> 00:06:08 than any clock previously flown in space.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 Anna: By having such an accurate clock on board,
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 the spacecraft can essentially navigate
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 itself. It would receive a, uh, one way
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 signal from Earth. And by knowing the
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 precise time the signal was sent and the
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 time it was received, it can calculate its
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 position without having to talk back. It's
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 like giving our deep space probes their own
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 version of gps.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 Avery: NASA plans to test the clock for a full year,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 putting it through its paces in the harsh
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 radiation environment of space to ensure it
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 performs as expected. This isn't just an
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 incremental improvement. It's a foundational
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 technology that's crucial for enabling
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 ambitious future missions, especially crewed
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 expeditions to Mars.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 Anna: Okay, from cutting edge hardware to
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 a question of celestial mechanics.
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 Avery.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 If our listeners spend any time on social
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 media, they may have seen a
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 peculiar astronomical phrase making the
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 rounds lately. Chiron is in
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 retrograde. And their first reaction might
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 have been, what even is Chiron?
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 Avery: It's true, it's not exactly a household name,
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 so let's dive in. Um, Chiron is a
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 fascinating and somewhat bizarre object in
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 our solar system. It's what's known as a
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 centaur, a class of small bodies that orbit
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 the sun in the chaotic region between Jupiter
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 and Neptune.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 Anna: When it was first discovered in 1977,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 it was classified as an asteroid. But then
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 in 1989, astronomers were
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 surprised to see it develop a coma, a
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 fuzzy cloud of gas and dust, and even a
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 faint tail. This is the hallmark of a
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 comet.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 Avery: So is it an asteroid or a comet?
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 The answer is yes. It's one of
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 a few objects that hold this dual
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 classification. And the weirdness doesn't
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 stop there. Just last year, astronomers
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 confirmed that Chiron also has its own
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 system of rings.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 Anna: It really is a special little world.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 So what does it mean for it to be in
00:08:14 --> 00:08:14 retrograde?
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 Avery: This is the key part. What we're seeing is
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 apparent retrograde motion. The object
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 hasn't actually changed direction at all.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 It's purely a line of sight illusion from our
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 vantage point on Earth.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 Anna: Think of it this way. Earth and Chiron
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 are both orbiting the sun in the same
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 direction. But Earth is on the inside
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 lane and moving faster. As we approach
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 Chiron in our orbit and then overtake it,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 our faster motion makes Chiron appear
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 to slow down, stop, and move backwards
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 against the distant stars. For A period of
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 time.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 Avery: It's just like when you're driving on a
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 highway and pass a slower car as you go
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 by. That slower car briefly looks like it's
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 moving backwards from your perspective.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 That's exactly what's happening. And you
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 can't see it for yourself anyway. It's far
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 too faint. Sorry.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 For our final story, we are heading out to
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 the main asteroid belt to take another look
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 at one of its most, uh, fascinating
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 residents. The dwarf planet Ceres.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 Anna: Ceres is the largest body in the asteroid
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 belt, so large that its own gravity has
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 pulled it into a spherical shape. We got our
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 best ever look at it thanks to NASA's dawn
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 mission, which orbited it from 2015
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 until 2018.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 Avery: Absolutely. Dawn's data confirmed that the
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 famous bright spots on Ceres surface are
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 made of salts left behind by liquid that came
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 up from a massive underground reservoir of
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 brine. So check one. Sarah's had
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 liquid water.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 Anna: Cerise also revealed evidence of organic
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 material, carbon based molecules on the
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 surface. These are the fundamental building
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 blocks of life. So check 2.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 Cerise had the right chemical ingredients.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 The but there was a third crucial question.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 Avery: For life to exist, it needs a source of
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 energy to power metabolic processes.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 Essentially, it needs food. And that's where
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 this exciting new NASA research comes in.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 Anna: Scientists built models to simulate Ceres
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 interior over billions of years. Their
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 findings suggest that for a long period in
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 its ancient past, Ceres likely had a
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 steady supply of chemical energy.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:29 Avery: This energy came from the natural decay of
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 radioactive elements within the dwarf
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 planet's rocky core. This internal heat would
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 have warmed the subsurface ocean, causing hot
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 mineral rich water to circulate up from the
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 core, creating a chemical fuel source for any
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 potential single celled organisms.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 Anna: The models indicate that the peak period for
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 this potential habitability was about
00:10:49 --> 00:10:52 2.5 to 4 billion years ago.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 It's important to be clear this does not mean
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 that life definitely existed on Cerese.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 It means the food was likely available
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 should life have ever gotten started there.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 Avery: And the implications of this are huge. It
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 suggests that many other water rich icy
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 worlds of a similar size could also have had
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 their own periods of habitability fueled by
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 this same internal engine early in their
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 history. It expands a search for where life
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 could have once existed.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 And on that hopeful note, that is all the
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 time we have for today's episode of Astronomy
00:11:25 --> 00:11:25 Daily.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 Anna: We've covered quite the range from the
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 tangible success of an international rocket
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 launch.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 Avery: To the clandestine operations of the
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 X37B. We untangled the celestial
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 illusion of Chiron's retrograde motion and
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 dove deep into the ancient oceans of Cerese.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 Anna: We want to thank you, our listeners, for
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 joining us on this journey today.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 Avery: We'll be back tomorrow with more of the
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 latest news from the cosmos. Until then, from
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 me, Avery, and from.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 Anna: Me, Anna, keep looking up. This has been
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 Astronomy Daily.