S03E153: SpaceX's Milestone, Japan's Lunar Landing Plans, and James Webb's Outer Galaxy Insights

Transcript

Welcome to Astronomy Daily, I'm Anna, and you're tuning in to your daily dose of space and astronomy news. We've got an action-packed episode for you today, filled with groundbreaking developments that are pushing the boundaries of human exploration and our understanding of the cosmos. Coming up, we'll dive into a historic milestone in private space exploration, as SpaceX achieves the first-ever privately-financed spacewalk. We'll also check in on Japan's ambitious plans for a second moon landing attempt, and discuss the latest hurdles facing SpaceX's Starship program. But that's not all – we'll take you on a journey to the far reaches of our galaxy, as the James Webb Space Telescope unveils stunning new observations of star formation in the extreme outer regions of the Milky Way. And finally, we'll explore NASA's efforts to establish a standardized lunar time, a crucial step for future moon missions and beyond.

Stick around as we explore these fascinating stories and more on today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

First up an update on yesterdays story. SpaceX has once again pushed the boundaries of commercial space exploration with a historic achievement. In a groundbreaking mission, billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX crew trainer Sarah Gillis successfully conducted the first privately-financed spacewalk in history. The spacewalk took place early Thursday morning, with Isaacman and Gillis taking turns floating just outside their Crew Dragon capsule. At an altitude of 458 miles above Earth, they had an unobstructed view of our planet that left Isaacman in awe. He remarked on the serene, boundary-free view, noting that while there's much work to be done back on Earth, from space, it looks like a perfect world. This wasn't just a joyride in space, though. The primary goal of this one-hour and 46-minute spacewalk was to test SpaceX's new pressure suits. Isaacman and Gillis performed a series of mobility tests, moving their arms, hands, and legs through various positions to assess the suits' comfort and functionality in the vacuum of space.

These new suits are a crucial development for SpaceX's ambitious plans. The company aims to create low-cost, easy-to-manufacture spacesuits for future commercial astronauts who might one day fly to the moon or Mars aboard SpaceX's Super Heavy-Starship rockets. The suits feature some impressive innovations, including a heads-up display projecting critical data onto the helmet visor, something not found in NASA's current spacesuits. They also incorporate thermal insulation and solar protection, along with multiple redundancies in oxygen supply and other critical systems. This successful spacewalk marks another milestone in SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission, the first of three planned by Isaacman in cooperation with Elon Musk. It's a significant step forward in the commercialization of space travel and exploration, demonstrating that private companies can now perform complex operations once reserved for government space agencies.

As we look to the future of space exploration, this achievement opens up exciting possibilities for commercial space ventures and brings us one step closer to making space more accessible to civilians.

In other space news today, Japanese space exploration company i-space is gearing up for another shot at the moon. Their second lunar landing mission is set to launch as early as December, just over a year and a half after their first attempt. The company's CEO, Takeshi Hakamada, announced that the Hakuto-R Mission 2 will be delivered to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching from Florida. After a journey of four to five months, the spacecraft will attempt its crucial lunar touchdown. This mission follows i-space's first moon landing attempt in April 2023, which unfortunately failed in the final moments due to an altitude miscalculation. Despite this setback, the company remains determined to achieve its goals. If successful, i-space would join the ranks of U.S.-based Intuitive Machines, which made history in February by completing the world's first private moon landing. It's clear that the commercial space race to the moon is heating up, with private companies vying to establish their presence on our celestial neighbor.

i-space's persistence highlights the growing interest in lunar exploration, not just from national space agencies, but also from the private sector. The moon is increasingly seen as a frontier for potential resource extraction and as a stepping stone for further space exploration.

It's not all good news for SpaceX today. Their highly anticipated fifth test flight of its Starship rocket is facing unexpected delays. The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, has announced that a final license determination for Starship Flight 5 is not expected before late November 2024. This comes as a setback for SpaceX, who had been gearing up for the launch since their successful fourth flight in June. The delay stems from SpaceX's decision to modify both the vehicle configuration and mission profile for Flight 5, triggering a more in-depth review process. Additionally, new information submitted by SpaceX in August detailed a larger environmental impact area than previously reviewed, requiring further consultation with other agencies. SpaceX has expressed frustration with this development, stating that the Starship vehicle has been technically ready to fly since early August. In a blog post, the company criticized the regulatory environment, claiming that it now takes longer to complete government paperwork for a launch license than to design and build the actual rocket.

This situation highlights the growing tension between the rapid pace of technological advancement in the private space industry and the necessarily cautious approach of government oversight. As companies like SpaceX push the boundaries of space exploration, finding the right balance between innovation and safety remains a critical challenge for the industry.

Let's take a look out into deep space now. In a groundbreaking study, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has turned its powerful gaze to the farthest reaches of our Milky Way, capturing stunning images of star-forming regions in what astronomers call the Extreme Outer Galaxy. This area, located more than 58,000 light-years from the Galactic Center, is nearly twice as far as Earth's position. The Webb telescope, using its NIRCam and MIRI instruments, focused on two molecular clouds known as Digel Clouds 1 and 2. These observations have revealed unprecedented details of star clusters undergoing intense bursts of star formation. The images show very young protostars, outflows and jets, and unique nebular structures with a level of clarity never before achieved. What makes these observations particularly exciting is that the Digel Clouds are relatively poor in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. This composition is similar to dwarf galaxies and what our own Milky Way might have looked like in its early history. By studying these regions, astronomers can gain valuable insights into the processes of star formation in environments that mimic the conditions of the early universe.

One of the most striking discoveries was in Cloud 2S, where Webb captured a main cluster of young, newly formed stars. This dense area is bustling with activity, showing several stars emitting extended jets of material from their poles. The imagery also confirmed the existence of a previously suspected sub-cluster within the cloud. These observations are just the beginning. Scientists plan to revisit this galactic outpost to unravel more mysteries, including how the environment influences the formation of different types of stars and why circumstellar disks in the Extreme Outer Galaxy have shorter lifetimes compared to those closer to us. The Webb telescope's ability to peer into these distant, primordial-like environments is providing astronomers with a unique opportunity to study star formation in conditions similar to those that existed billions of years ago. This research not only enhances our understanding of our galaxy's history but also sheds light on the fundamental processes that shape the universe as we know it.

And finally today, let's revisit a story we first brought to your attention some months ago. In a move that underscores the complexities of space exploration, NASA is taking on a task that might seem mundane at first glance but is actually crucial for future lunar missions: establishing a standardized lunar time. The space agency is spearheading efforts to create what's being called Coordinated Lunar Time, or LTC. This initiative comes in response to a White House policy directive issued in April, recognizing the need for a unified timekeeping system on the moon. You might wonder why we can't just use Earth time on the moon. Well, it turns out that time moves differently on the lunar surface due to the effects of relativity. Atomic clocks on the moon would actually tick faster than those on Earth by microseconds per day. While that might not sound like much, in the precision-dependent world of space exploration, those tiny differences can add up to significant discrepancies.

To put this into perspective, NASA scientist Cheryl Gramling explains that for something traveling at the speed of light, a 56-microsecond difference is enough time to cover a distance of about 168 football fields. That kind of variation could pose serious risks for navigation and communication in lunar missions. The plan is to establish a network of atomic clocks on the moon, similar to how we determine Coordinated Universal Time here on Earth. However, the exact locations for these clocks are still being determined, as scientists grapple with the complexities of lunar timekeeping. This lunar time standard isn't just about the moon, though. NASA sees it as a scalable solution that could be applied to future Mars missions and exploration of other celestial bodies in our solar system.

As we enter an era of increased commercial space activity and international collaboration in lunar exploration, having a shared definition of time becomes more critical than ever. It's an essential component for ensuring safe, resilient, and sustainable operations beyond Earth. In essence, NASA's lunar time initiative is laying the groundwork for a new era of space exploration, one where we're not just visitors to other worlds, but potentially long-term inhabitants. It's a small step in timekeeping, but a giant leap for our future in space.

And that wraps up our cosmic journey for today on Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna, and I hope you've enjoyed this whirlwind tour of the latest developments in space exploration and astronomical discoveries. If you're hungry for more space news, don't forget to visit our website at astronomydaily.io. There, you can sign up for our free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings in the world of astronomy and space science. Our website also features a constantly updating newsfeed, so you'll never miss a beat when it comes to space-related news. For those of you who can't get enough of our content, you can also catch up on all our past episodes right on the website. It's a great way to dive deeper into topics we've covered before or to revisit your favorite space stories.

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