The End of The Road for the Atlas Rocket

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Hi, thanks for joining us. This is Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Andrew Dunkley, and it's

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_01]: good to be with you. Coming up on today's show, we've got plenty to talk about. The warming of

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_01]: our planet is one of them. Many doomsdayers suggesting we're on the threshold, the threshold

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_01]: of what? I'll tell you later. And they have confirmed Martian, the Martian core exists.

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And we'll look at Artemis 1 and see where that's up to as well. All coming up on this edition of

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Astronomy Daily. And we also welcome our AI reporter Hallie. G'day, Hallie. Hi, Andrew. How's the head?

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_01]: I can't hide anything from you. I really shouldn't mention these things on the radio.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Struggling. I have been getting regular headaches two or three times a day,

[00:00:56] [SPEAKER_01]: ever since I got my latest bout of COVID. That seems to be the after effect this time. The first

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_01]: time I had COVID it was just a relentless cough that lasted two months. So I'm hoping the headaches

[00:01:07] [SPEAKER_01]: don't last that long. Well, I hope it improves soon. Yeah, me too. Let's get a rundown of the news.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_02]: NASA will continue a lunar smallsat mission for launch in mid 2023 despite exceeding its cost cap

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_02]: by 30%. NASA yesterday that the agency decided after a review to continue work on the lunar

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_02]: trailblazer mission, a small spacecraft that will orbit the moon to map the abundance of water

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_02]: ice deposits. The spacecraft will launch in the middle of 2023 as a secondary payload on

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_02]: the Falcon 9 launch of the IM, two lunar lander by intuitive machines. NASA announced in August that

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_02]: the mission would undergo a continuation termination review because of overruns by the

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_02]: spacecraft subcontractor, Lockheed Martin. NASA says the mission has a revised overall

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_02]: cost estimate of $72 million. The mission is one of three NASA selected in 2019 for its small

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_02]: innovative missions for planetary exploration simplex program, along with the Janus asteroid

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_02]: mission and escape and plasma acceleration and dynamics explorers escapade Mars mission.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Each mission was supposed to fit within a $55 million cost cap. Lunar trailblazer with its new

[00:02:24] [SPEAKER_02]: $72 million cost is now more than 30% over that cap. The Atlas rocket family, a staple of

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_02]: the U.S. launch industry since June 11, 1957, ended its west coast operations on November 10

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_02]: with the launch of an Atlas V rocket with the JPSS-2 weather satellite. JPSS-2 is part of the

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_02]: joint polar satellite system, the most recent generation of U.S. polar orbiting, non-geosynchronous

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_02]: environmental satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_02]: This is the last mission launch for the Atlas rocket family, which for decades was a

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_02]: cornerstone of the U.S. launch market. It will be replaced by the next generation launch vehicle,

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Vulcan. A new satellite image shows that the world's largest iceberg, a 76A, has entered the Drake

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Passage, a waterway that contains a fast-moving ocean current that will send the mighty burg

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_02]: on a one-way trip to a watery grave. After slowly drifting around Antarctica for more than a

[00:03:24] [SPEAKER_02]: year and barely melting, the world's largest iceberg could soon be set on an accelerated

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_02]: course toward its eventual demise. The Gargantuan Ice Lab, known as a 76A, is around 84 miles,

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_02]: 135 kilometers long and 16 miles, 26 kilometers wide. It is the largest fragment of the world's

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_02]: previous biggest iceberg, the Rhode Island size a 76, which broke off from the western side of

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Antarctica's Ron ice shelf in May 2021 and later fractured into three chunks. This large

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_02]: chuck is unlikely to remain intact much longer because the Drake Passage is renowned for sending

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_02]: icebergs on a one-way trip to their demise. The main reason for this is the Antarctic

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Circumpolar Current. It's the only current that flows entirely around the globe, and it contains

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_02]: more water than any other current on Earth. It is currently unclear how long a 76A will

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_02]: remain in the Drake Passage where it will end up and how long it will survive once turbulent

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_02]: currents fling the ice mass northwards. Are there any big ships due for their maiden

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_02]: voyages in the near future I wonder? One of the largest pieces of NASA's fallen

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_02]: space shuttle Challenger has been discovered on the ocean floor by a TV documentary team searching

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_02]: for a downed World War II aircraft. The artifact, which today remains where it was

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_02]: found by the crew filming the History Channel's new series, the Bermuda Triangle, into cursed

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_02]: waters, was positively identified by NASA based upon the item's modern construction

[00:04:56] [SPEAKER_02]: and presence of 8-inch square thermal protection heat shield tiles. The segment of Challenger was

[00:05:02] [SPEAKER_02]: found in waters off Florida's Space Coast, well northwest of the area popularly known as the

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Bermuda Triangle. And that's the news Andrew. Thank you Hallie and we'll catch up with you

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_01]: at the end of today's show. Well we've talked about global warming many times on

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_01]: space nuts and it's always in the news and it's generally thought that the planet is warming up

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01]: and something needs to be done about it. Well it's been confirmed and it should come as no

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_01]: surprise the world is definitely going to warm but the scary part is it's going to warm beyond

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_01]: the 2.7 degree Fahrenheit or one and a half degrees Celsius threshold that was set out by

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_01]: the climate science community in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

[00:05:52] [SPEAKER_01]: But they do say the planet can cool back down if countries take speedy action to decarbonize

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_01]: their economies according to a new study. Now the goal of reducing the ongoing global

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_01]: temperature rise to below one and a half degrees Celsius was agreed upon at the United Nations

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_01]: Climate Change Conference in Paris about seven years ago. Every tenth of a degree above that

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_01]: limit will bring unpredictable consequences increasing the severity of extreme weather events

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_01]: and climate fluctuations according to the researchers and I think we're already seeing it.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Unprecedented massive tornadoes record breaking hurricanes cyclones and typhoons

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_01]: you name it. We are seeing it already as things stand the study says there's no way of preventing

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_01]: the feared climate change threshold threshold from being reached now which is based on the

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_01]: analysis of 27 possible emission reductions scenarios but they went on to say all is not

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_01]: lost decisive action could bring the temperature back down to a reasonable limit and they're urging

[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_01]: the global community to do all they can to reduce the period of time the planet spends

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_01]: in the the temperature hot zone. That's all good and well and I think at this stage

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_01]: statements like that are preaching to the converted those that do not want to hear it

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_01]: will ignore it and keep munching away on coal and all those other carbon emitting fuels

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_01]: to perhaps the the demise of the planet for the foreseeable future. They went on to say it

[00:07:38] [SPEAKER_01]: could take years or even decades to bring temperatures back down the analysis suggests

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_01]: and every year the planet remains too warm will bring environmental destruction

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_01]: including the loss of land due to sea level rises devastating droughts and severe flooding so

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_01]: delaying action for too long may lead to irreversible consequences. Now Mars my favorite place in the

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_01]: entire solar system has been the subject of an analysis that has proven that it has a core

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_01]: now that's not new news I know I said at the beginning hey Mars has got a core we know that

[00:08:13] [SPEAKER_01]: we've talked about that before but it was found using a new method to scan the deep interior of

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_01]: planets in our solar system to confirm whether or not they have a core at the heart of their existence

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_01]: and that's been done through seismologists from the Australian National University

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_01]: and this system functions in a similar way to an ultrasound scan using sound waves to

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_01]: generate images of a patient's body you just do this on a planet wide scale the research has been

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_01]: published in Nature Astronomy using the ANU model to scan the entire interior of Mars the

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_01]: researchers confirmed the red planet has a large core at its center a theory first

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_01]: confirmed by the scientists in 2021 study co-author professor Horv

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_01]: Thalick from ANU said the that based on the data collected from the ANU technique the researchers

[00:09:11] [SPEAKER_01]: determined that the Martian core which is smaller than Earth is about 3620 kilometers or

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_01]: 2250 miles in diameter but it was a good test because now they'll be able to use the

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01]: same technology on other planets and moons in our solar system and basically if you can find a core

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_01]: you might understand what makes these objects tick the astronomy daily podcast we've done you don't

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_01]: now to the trials and tribulations of NASA's Artemis project NASA has decided to reschedule

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_01]: its Artemis one mission launch to November 16th depending on whether or not they can

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_01]: reach a position where the conditions are safe the space agency is monitoring yet another tropical

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_01]: storm Nicole which is approaching the east coast of Florida now adjusting the target launch date

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_01]: they say will allow the workforce to tender the needs of their families and homes

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_01]: and provide sufficient logistical time to get back into launch status following the storm

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Nicole has also delayed the SpaceX galaxy satellite launch pushing it back at least four days for a

[00:10:26] [SPEAKER_01]: launch no earlier than November 12th the Artemis one delay is the latest in a long series of

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_01]: launch dates that have been scrubbed for that one mission they just have had no luck

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_01]: whatsoever initially technical problems then a tropical site a tropical hurricane or a hurricane

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_01]: and and now it looks like another storm delay fingers crossed they'll get there eventually

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_01]: but gee it must be frustrating they must be going nuts and finally exoplanets now at the moment

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_01]: we know how many there are and how many need to be investigated that well we don't know how

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_01]: many there are as a whole in the universe but we have confirmed that there are 5197

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_01]: exoplanets that have been discovered with another 8992 candidates awaiting converse

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_01]: confirmation of those 5197 confirmed exoplanets they are in 3888 planetary systems now the

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_01]: majority have been particularly massive planets ranging from Jupiter and Neptune size gas giants

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: which have a radius of two and a half times that of earth another statistically significant

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_01]: population has been rocky planets that measure 1.5 times the diameter of earth they call them

[00:11:55] [SPEAKER_01]: super earths I hate that terminology this presents a mystery to astronomers especially

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_01]: where exoplanets discovered by the vulnerable by the Kepler space telescope are concerned

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_01]: of the more than 2600 planets Kepler discovered there's an apparent rarity of exoplanets with a

[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_01]: radius of about 1.8 times that of earth which seems a little bit strange and they referring

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_01]: to this as a radius valley a second mystery known as peas in a pod refers to neighboring

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_01]: planets of similar size found in hundreds of planetary systems with harmonious orbits

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_01]: in a study led by the cycles of life essential volatile elements in rocky planets project

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_01]: which spells clever haha at Rice University an international team of astrophysicists provide

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_01]: a model that accounts for the interplay of forces acting on newborn planets that could

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_01]: explain those two mysteries the research was led by Andre is Dorot a Welsh postdoctoral fellow at

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Rice NASA Rice's NASA funded clever planets project and yeah so they think there might be

[00:13:10] [SPEAKER_01]: an anomaly and their model a protoplanetary disks of gas and dust also interact with

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_01]: migrating planets pulling them closer to their parent stars and locking them into

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_01]: a resident orbital chain and within a few million years the protoplanetary disks disappear

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_01]: breaking the chain and causing orbital instabilities that cause two or more planets to collide

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_01]: and while planetary migration models have been used to study planetary system systems that

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_01]: retained orbital resonances these findings represent a first for astronomers and explains

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_01]: the gaps in the size of certain exoplanets it's a really interesting read if you want to

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_01]: go to universe today dot com and read more deeply into it well you can you can actually find that

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_01]: story of course through astronomy daily on the space nuts dot i o website just click on astronomy

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_01]: daily when you visit our website that's where we're just about finished so don't forget to

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_01]: leave your reviews through your favorite podcasting platform of astronomy daily and space nuts and

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_01]: don't forget to visit the space nuts shop while you're there and chase up your fellow

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[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_01]: podcast group which is a user generated facebook page and that finishes it up for another week

[00:14:35] [SPEAKER_01]: hallie anything before you leave us today to go off wherever you're going to go for the

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_02]: weekend i just want to wish you good luck in the club championships at double golf club this weekend

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_01]: hope you can get your hands on the trophy oh thanks hallie uh look i'm not overly confident

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_01]: it's only the first two rounds this weekend and then we play the final two rounds next

[00:14:57] [SPEAKER_01]: weekend 72 hold tournament but i i'm feeling incredibly fatigued after the uh the travels

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_01]: and the tribulations of covet over the last couple of weeks so i'm not even sure i'll make it to the

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_01]: finish line but i'll give it my best shot hallie thank you uh maybe you can sneak into some of

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_01]: the uh the smartphones and rangefinders that the other players have gotten and mess with their

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_02]: mess with their distances oh andrew i'm disappointed that you even thought of that

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah me too bye hallie have a good weekend bye and we're done for another week thanks

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_01]: for listening to astronomy daily looking forward to your company again next time