1. NASA
2. Blue Origin
3. James Webb Space Telescope
4. NASA Mars Exploration
5. Space.com
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This episode includes AI-generated content.
00:00:01 --> 00:00:03 Avery: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, the
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 podcast that brings you the universe one
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 story at a time. I'm Avery.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 Anna: And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 Today we've got a great lineup, from a
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 historic first for accessibility in space
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 to a bizarre lemon shaped planet orbiting
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 a dead star.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 Avery: Plus, we'll be looking at how NASA is getting
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 an unprecedented new view of the sun and how
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 future astronauts might build landing pads on
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 the moon itself. It's a packed show.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Anna: It certainly is. Let's get right to it.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 First up, a truly inspiring story of
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 breaking barriers. German engineer Michaela
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 Benthaus just became the first paraplegic
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 person and the first wheelchair user to fly
00:00:45 --> 00:00:46 to space. Wow.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 Avery: That's incredible. This was with Blue Origin,
00:00:49 --> 00:00:49 right?
00:00:49 --> 00:00:51 Anna: That's right. On their New Shepard rocket for
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 a 10 minute suborbital flight. What's really
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 fascinating is how few adjustments were
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 needed. The capsule was apparently designed
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 with a high degree of accessibility from the
00:01:01 --> 00:01:01 start.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 Avery: That's the key, isn't it? Proactive design
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 rather than reactive accommodation. It, shows
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 that space doesn't have to be the exclusive
00:01:09 --> 00:01:10 domain of a select few.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Anna: Exactly. Benthaus herself said she
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 wants to be a role model, showing that
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 physical limitations shouldn't prevent people
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 from pursuing their dreams. It's a huge step
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 forward for making space truly for everyone.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 Avery: Absolutely. A fantastic piece of good news to
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27 start the day.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 Alright, from human spaceflight, let's turn
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 our attention to our own star. NASA's Punch
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 mission is giving us a view of the sun
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 that's. Well, it's completely new
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 punch, that stands.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 Anna: For polarimeter, to unify the corona and
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 heliosphere. And what it's doing is pretty
00:01:44 --> 00:01:45 revolutionary.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 Avery: It is, instead of just looking at the corona,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 PUNCH is watching the solar wind, the stream
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 of particles flowing out from the sun as it
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 expands and fills the solar system. It's
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 using a constellation of four small
00:01:58 --> 00:01:59 spacecraft.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 Anna: Mm, like a wide angle lens for the solar
00:02:02 --> 00:02:02 system.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 Avery: Exactly. They fly in formation and
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 together their cameras capture this
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 continuous panoramic view of the material as
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 it flows past Earth. For the first time, we
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 can see the entire process from the corona
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 to a full astronomical unit away, which is
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 Earth's distance from the sun.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 Anna: And this is crucial for understanding space
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 weather. Things like coronal mass ejections
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 or CMEs, are massive eruptions of
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 plasma that can disrupt satellites and grids
00:02:31 --> 00:02:32 here on Earth.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 Avery: Right before punch, we'd see a CME
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 leave the sun and then we'd have to wait for
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 it to hit a satellite near Earth to know its
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 structure. Now we can track its entire
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 journey.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 Anna: So it gives us a much better ability to
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 forecast the impact of space weather. It's
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 moving from seeing the cannon fire to
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 actually tracking the cannonball through the
00:02:53 --> 00:02:53 air.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 Avery: That's a perfect analogy. It's a game changer
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 for protecting our technology Both in orbit
00:02:59 --> 00:02:59 and on the ground.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:02 Anna: And the way it achieves this is so
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 CLE4 satellites are essentially imaging
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 polarized light. The sunlight scatters off
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 the electrons in the solar wind. And by
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 measuring the polarization, they can build a
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 3D picture of its structure and density.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 Avery: It's like giving us 3D glasses to see the
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 invisible solar wind. And because the four
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 satellites are in different positions, they
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 can combine their views to get a truly global
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 perspective that a single spacecraft just
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 couldn't achieve.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 Anna: Exactly. It's a leap from a single snapshot
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 To a continuous system wide movie.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 This kind of data will be invaluable not just
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 for earth, but for planning future robotic
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 and crewed missions throughout the solar
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 system, Protecting them from solar outbursts.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 Speaking of ambitious missions, Our next
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 story takes us to the moon, where engineers
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 are tackling a very dusty how to
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 build a launch pad that can be used over and
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 over again.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 Avery: Right. Because rocket exhaust is
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 incredibly powerful, and on the moon, with
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 its lower gravity and lack of atmosphere, it
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 would just blast lunar dust or regolith
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 everywhere at high speeds.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 Anna: Exactly. That dust is sharp and
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 abrasive, and it could damage the lander
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 itself or any nearby habitats or equipment.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 So a new paper is looking at how to solve
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 this using the regolith.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 Avery: Itself, Using the local materials. In
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 situ resource utilization. That's the holy
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 grail for sustainable space exploration.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 Anna: It is. The idea is to essentially
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 melt the regolith Into a solid, durable
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 surface, A process called sintering. They're
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 thinking of using microwaves or lasers
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 Delivered by robotic builders to create these
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 launch pads.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 Avery: So you send robots ahead to pave a landing
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 zone for you. That sounds very sci fi.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 Anna: It does, but it's a very practical challenge.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 The launch pad needs to withstand incredible
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 temperature swings and the stress of repeated
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 launches. The engineers are planning tests to
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 see how the sintered regolith holds up under
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 simulated rocket plume conditions.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 Avery: And I imagine maintenance is a big issue too.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 If a pad gets cracked, you can't just send
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 out a construction crew easily.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 Anna: That's a huge part of it. The plan would have
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 to include robotic systems, not just for
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 building the pads, but for inspecting and
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 repairing them as well. It's a foundational
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 piece of the puzzle For a permanent human
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 presence on the moon.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 Avery: It's fascinating to think about the
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 logistics. Are we talking about paving an
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 entire spaceport or just a small landing
00:05:31 --> 00:05:31 circle?
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 Anna: Initially, just a hardened pad about 50
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 meters in diameter to mitigate the dust
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 problem. But the research paper suggests that
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 this technology is scalable. If you can build
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 one pad, you can link them together over time
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 to create taxiways and larger operational
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 areas.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 Avery: and what about the energy source? Sensoring
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 regolith with lasers or microwaves Sounds
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 incredibly power intensive. That's a major
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 challenge. On the Moon, it is.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 Anna: The leading concepts involve leveraging solar
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 power with large deployable arrays,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 potentially charging batteries during the
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 long lunar day to power construction
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 activities. It's a classic chicken and egg
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 problem. You need infrastructure to build
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 infrastructure. This is step one.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 Avery: Well, from building on our moon to exploring
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 truly bizarre worlds far beyond it,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 Astronomers using the James Webb Space
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Telescope have found something that. Well, it
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 looks like it belongs in a different
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 universe.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 Anna: I think I know which one you're talking
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 about. Is this the LEMMON shaped planet?
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 Avery: The one and only. Its Official name is PSR
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 J2322
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 2652B. But lemon
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 shaped planet is much easier to remember. And
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 the name is literal. It's being
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 distorted into an oblong shape by the immense
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 gravity of the star it orbits.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 Anna: And that star isn't a normal star. Right.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 It's a pulsar. A super dense, rapidly
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 spinning remnant of a massive star that went
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 supernova.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 Avery: Precisely. The gravity is so intense,
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 it's literally stretching the planet. But
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 that's not even the weirdest part. Its
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 atmosphere is unlike anything we've seen.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 It's extremely rich in carbon.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 Anna: So not a water world, but a carbon world.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 What does that even mean for its appearance?
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 Avery: The model suggests it could have clouds of
00:07:19 --> 00:07:20 soot and an atmosphere thick with
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 hydrocarbons. It's a completely alien
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 environment. That really challenges our
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 understanding of how planets can form and
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 what they can be made of, Especially around
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 such an extreme object like a pulsar.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 Anna: It really is. And it raises the question of
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 how it even survived. The supernova that
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 created the pulsar should have completely
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 obliterated any nearby planets.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 Avery: There are a couple of theories. One is that
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 it's a second generation planet formed from
00:07:47 --> 00:07:48 the debris disk left over after the
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 supernova. The carbon rich composition might
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 support that idea.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 Anna: Or it could have been a captured rogue planet
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 that wandered too close to the pulsar long
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 after the explosion. But getting into
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 such a tight orbit without being torn apart
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 is a tricky gravitational dance.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 Avery: Either way, it's a testament to the
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 universe's. Ability to create stability in
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 the most chaotic of environments. A warped,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 sooty, lemon shaped world calmly orbiting
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 one of the most violent objects we know of.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 It's poetic in a strange way.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 Anna: Incredible. Every time we think we have a
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 handle on the types of planets out there,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 JWST finds another one to break all
00:08:31 --> 00:08:31 the rules.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 Okay, let's bring it back to our own solar
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 system for our last big story today, over to
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 the Red Planet. NASA's Perseverance
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 rover has been getting an up close look at
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 some fascinating features on the Martian
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 surface. Megaripples.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 Avery: These aren't like the little ripples you see
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 in, sand at the beach, are they?
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 Anna: Not at all. These are huge, up to
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 2 meters tall. They're formed by wind,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 just like dunes on Earth. But their size and
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 shape give us vital clues about Mars's more
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 recent climate history and wind patterns.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 Avery: So by studying them, we can learn about the
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 Martian weather today and in the not so
00:09:09 --> 00:09:10 distant past.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 Anna: That's the idea. The rover has been examining
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 a field of them, nicknamed Honeyguide. By
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 analyzing the grain size and structure,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 scientists can figure out the wind speeds
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 needed to build them. It helps paint a
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 picture of Mars as a dynamic, active world,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 not just a static one.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 Avery: It's amazing how much geology can tell us
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 about a planet's atmosphere, right?
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 Anna: But for now, from accessible spaceflight
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 to alien worlds, it's been quite a day in
00:09:40 --> 00:09:40 astronomy.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 Avery: It certainly has. And that's all the time we
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 have for this episode of Astronomy Daily. We
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 hope you've enjoyed this tour of the latest
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 cosmic happenings.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 Anna: We always appreciate you joining us.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 Avery: Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 podcasts so you don't miss an episode. Until
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 next time. I'm Avery.
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 Anna: And I'm Ana. keep looking up.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:12 Avery: The
00:10:12 --> 00:10:20 toe.