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From Lunar Power Plants to Wobbling Comets: Your Daily Space Update · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Welcome to Astronomy Daily, the podcast
• 0:02
  that brings you the universe, one story
• 0:04
  at a time. I'm Avery.
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  >> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you
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  today. We're covering everything from
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  ambitious plans for lunar colonization
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  to fascinating new discoveries about
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  visitors from beyond our solar system.
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  >> That's right. We'll be talking about a
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  nuclearpowered future on the moon, a
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  sci-fi concept for artificial gravity
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  that's getting closer to reality, and a
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  record-breaking satellite launch. We've
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  also got news of a major setback for One
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  Nation space program and a wobbly
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  interstellar comet.
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  >> So, let's get right to it. Our first
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  story takes us to the moon where Russia
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  has announced some truly monumental
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  plans.
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  >> You can say that again,
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  >> Avery. This isn't just about setting up
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  a temporary outpost. Russia's space
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  agency has stated its intention to build
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  a full-fledged nuclear power plant on
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  the lunar surface within the next decade
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  or so.
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  >> A nuclear power plant on the moon.
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  That's a huge undertaking. And they're
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  not doing it alone. Right.
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  >> Exactly. This is part of a joint effort
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  with China. The goal is to have the
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  plant constructed and operational by
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  2036. The purpose is to provide a
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  consistent and powerful energy source
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  for a planned joint Russian Chinese
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  research station.
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  >> That makes sense. Solar power is great,
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  but a lunar night lasts for about 14
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  Earth days. If you want a permanently
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  functioning scientific station, you need
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  a power source that doesn't depend on
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  sunlight.
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  >> Right? This really signals a shift in
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  lunar exploration from temporary visits
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  to establishing a long-term sustainable
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  human presence. It's a foundational step
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  for what could become a true lunar
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  settlement one day.
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  >> It's fascinating. And speaking of
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  ambitious Russian plans for the future
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  of space travel, our next story sounds
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  like it was pulled directly from a
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  science fiction movie.
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  >> Sounds intriguing. The details, please.
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  >> The state-owned Eneria rocket company
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  has just secured a patent for a new
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  spacecraft design, and its main feature
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  is something astronauts have dreamed of
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  for decades, artificial gravity. This is
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  a critical piece of the puzzle for long
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  duration space missions. We know that
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  extended time in zerog has serious
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  negative effects on the human body.
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  >> Mhm. Serious effects. Things like muscle
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  atrophy and significant bone density
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  loss. It's one of the biggest hurdles
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  for say a man's mission to Mars.
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  >> So, how does this new design work? The
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  concept of a rotating system to create
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  centrifugal force isn't new, but what
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  are the specifics here? Well, the patent
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  describes a rotating system designed to
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  generate a gravitational force of about
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  0.5g.
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  So half of Earth's gravity. While not a
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  full 1g, it's believed that even this
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  level could profoundly mitigate the
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  health problems astronauts face.
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  >> Half a G would make a world of
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  difference. It means crews could arrive
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  at Mars or return to Earth in much
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  better physical condition. This could be
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  a genuine gamecher for the future of
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  human space flight.
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  >> Absolutely. From future tech to current
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  accomplishments, let's shift our focus
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  to a remarkable satellite that's now in
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  orbit. Anna, tell us about Bluebird 6.
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  >> This is a story about connectivity. An
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  Indian rocket recently launched the
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  Bluebird 6 satellite, and it's a
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  record-breaker. It was built by a
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  Texas-based company, AS Space Mobile,
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  and its mission is to provide broadband
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  internet service directly to standard
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  off-the-shelf smartphones on the ground.
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  >> Directly to phones. So, no special
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  equipment needed. That's the key. But
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  what makes it a record breaker?
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  >> It's size. To talk to a small device
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  like a cell phone from orbit, you need a
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  very, very large antenna. Bluebird 6
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  features a communication array of nearly
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  2400 square feet.
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  >> Wow. 2400 square f feet. That's massive.
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  >> It is. In fact, it's the largest
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  communication array ever deployed in low
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  Earth orbit. The potential impact here
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  is enormous, offering a way to connect
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  the unconnected in the most remote parts
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  of the globe.
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  >> That's an incredible piece of
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  engineering with a very noble goal. But
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  as we know, getting these complex
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  machines into orbit is the hardest part.
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  Which brings us to our next story.
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  Unfortunately, not all recent launches
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  have been successful.
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  >> That's right, Avery. Japan's ambitions
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  for an independent satellite navigation
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  system suffered a significant blow after
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  the second major failure of its flagship
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  H3 rocket.
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  >> This is a tough one for the Japanese
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  space program. The rocket was supposed
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  to deliver the Michibiki 5 satellite
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  into orbit, but it failed during its
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  flight.
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  >> And this satellite was a crucial
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  component of their Quasi Zenith
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  satellite system or QZSS.
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  >> Mhm. The qzs is designed to augment GPS
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  signals, providing much more accurate
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  and reliable positioning for Japan and
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  the rest of East Asia. This failure
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  represents a major delay to the
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  expansion and improvement of that
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  system. It's a stark reminder that even
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  for established space fairing nations,
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  rocket science is incredibly
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  challenging. There's just no room for
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  error. We certainly hope they can
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  identify and fix the issue for future
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  flights.
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  >> Indeed, it's a reminder of the high
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  stakes in space exploration.
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  >> It truly is. And for our final story,
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  we're venturing far from Earth to look
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  at one from another solar system that's
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  been paying us a bit of a visit.
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  Astronomers have been studying the
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  interstellar comet 3i/Atlas
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  which has begun leaving our solar system
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  and they've observed some very unusual
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  behavior. First, it has a rare
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  sun-facing anti-tail.
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  >> An anti-tail. So, a tail of dust and gas
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  pointing towards the sun instead of away
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  from it.
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  >> It's an optical illusion caused by our
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  viewing angle of the comet's dust trail.
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  But what's truly remarkable is what's
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  happening within that tail. As the comet
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  approached the sun, scientists observed
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  jets of outgassing material that appear
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  to be wobbling.
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  >> Wobbling jets. That's new.
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  >> Completely. This is the first time such
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  an outgassing pattern has ever been
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  observed from an interstellar comet. The
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  jets were seen to wobble on a very
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  specific cycle every 7 hours and 45
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  minutes.
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  >> And that tells us something fundamental
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  about the comet itself, doesn't it?
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  >> It does. This wobble implies a
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  rotational period for the comet's solid
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  nucleus. Based on the data, scientists
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  have calculated that the nucleus is
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  spinning on its axis once every 15 and a
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  half hours.
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  >> That is so cool to be able to determine
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  the length of a day on an object that
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  came from an entirely different solar
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  system just by watching its jets wobble.
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  It's an amazing piece of cosmic
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  detective work.
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  >> It certainly is. And that's all the time
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  we have for today's top stories. From
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  ambitious plans for nuclear power on the
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  moon to the rotation of an interstellar
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  comet, the cosmos never fails to
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  inspire.
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  >> A big thank you to all of you for tuning
• 7:12
  in. We hope you'll join us again next
• 7:14
  time for another dose of Astronomy
• 7:16
  Daily. Until then, you can find us on
• 7:19
  all major podcast platforms and on
• 7:22
  social media. Just search for astroaily
• 7:24
  pod. Full details on our website at
• 7:27
  astronomyaily.io.
• 7:29
  >> From both of us here, keep looking up.
• 7:31
  Astronomy day.
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  Stories be told.
• 7:42
  Stories told.