Latest / Space News Today / Earth-Like Planet Abundance, Alien Signals, and a Milestone Mars Image

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Earth-Like Planet Abundance, Alien Signals, and a Milestone Mars Image · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome back to Astronomy
• 0:02
  Daily, the podcast that brings the
• 0:04
  cosmos down to Earth. 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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  the potential abundance of Earthlike
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  planets to a truly mindbending theory
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  about our first contact with alien life.
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  Plus, we'll be looking at a
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  record-breaking week for space launches
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  around the globe. A major milestone for
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  a long-erving Mars orbiter and an
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  exciting opportunity for students to
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  contribute to the future of space
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  exploration. So, let's get started.
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  >> Avery, let's start with one of the
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  biggest questions in astronomy. Are we
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  alone? A new study published in Science
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  Advances suggests that planets like ours
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  might be far more common than we
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  previously thought.
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  >> This is the kind of news I love. What's
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  the new theory behind this?
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  >> It's called the immersion theory. The
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  basic idea is that the formation of
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  rocky Earthlike planets isn't just a
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  gentle process of dust clumping together
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  over millions of years. Instead, it
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  might be kickstarted by a pretty violent
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  event, a nearby supernova.
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  >> A supernova? Wow. So, the death of a
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  star could trigger the birth of a planet
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  like ours.
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  >> Exactly. The study proposes that the
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  shock wave and material from a supernova
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  explosion can compress a cloud of gas
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  and dust and inject it with heavy
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  elements. This creates the perfect
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  conditions for rocky planets rich in the
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  materials needed for life to form around
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  a young star.
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  >> That's fascinating. So, it's less of a
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  random accident and more of a
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  predictable outcome of cosmic events.
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  What does this mean for the numbers? How
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  much more common are we talking?
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  >> The estimates are really promising. The
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  study suggests that anywhere from 10 to
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  50% of sunlike stars could have
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  planetary systems formed under these
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  conditions. It basically reframes
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  Earthlike planets from being cosmic
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  rarities to potentially being a common
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  class of planet throughout the galaxy.
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  >> 50%. Just imagine that. It really
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  changes your perspective when you look
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  up at the night sky.
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  >> It does. And speaking of what might be
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  out there, another fascinating new idea
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  has emerged about what our first contact
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  with an extraterrestrial civilization
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  might actually be like, and it's not
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  what you see in the movies.
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  >> Okay, you have my attention. I'm
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  guessing it's not a friendly hello.
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  >> Not exactly. David Kipping from Columbia
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  University has proposed something called
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  the Escatashian hypothesis. The core
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  idea is that our first contact won't be
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  a typical representative signal from an
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  average alien civilization. Instead,
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  it's more likely to be a loud and
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  atypical signal.
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  >> Loud. What does he mean by that? Like
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  powerful and easy to detect.
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  >> Precisely. The hypothesis suggests that
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  the first civilization we hear from
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  might be one in a terminal phase,
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  perhaps facing an existential crisis or
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  nearing its end. In a final desperate
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  act, they might unleash a powerful
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  information-rich beacon into the cosmos.
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  Not necessarily for a reply, but as a
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  final testament to their existence, a
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  sort of cosmic message in a bottle.
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  >> Wow, that is a sobering thought. So, we
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  wouldn't be hearing from a thriving
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  neighbor, but receiving a final
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  broadcast from a civilization that may
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  no longer exist by the time we get the
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  message.
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  >> That's the idea. It's based on a pattern
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  we see in astronomy where our first
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  discoveries of a new phenomenon are
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  often the most extreme or unusual cases,
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  the easiest ones to spot. The first
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  exoplanets we found were hot Jupiters,
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  which we now know are not the most
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  common type of planet.
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  >> Right, that makes sense. The quiet,
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  stable civilizations might be out there,
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  but they'd be much harder to find than
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  one shouting for all it's worth. It
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  completely reframes the search for
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  extraterrestrial intelligence.
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  >> It certainly does. Now bringing our
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  focus back a little closer to home. The
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  skies above Earth are about to get
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  incredibly busy. We're looking at a
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  packed week for space launches from
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  multiple agencies and companies around
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  the world.
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  >> It really feels like a new golden age
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  for space flight. What are some of the
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  key missions we should be watching?
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  >> Well, there are some exciting debuts.
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  We're anticipating the first ever launch
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  of China's Long March 12A rocket. And
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  South Korea is set to launch its first
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  commercial rocket, the Hanbit Nano. Over
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  in Europe, the Aron 6 is scheduled to
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  launch another batch of Galileo
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  navigation satellites.
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  >> And you know, it wouldn't be a busy
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  launch week without SpaceX. I assume
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  they have a few flights planned.
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  >> Naturally, they have multiple Starlink
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  missions on the manifest as usual, but
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  they aren't the only ones building out
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  satellite internet. United Launch
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  Alliance or ULA has a mission for
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  Amazon's Project Kyper constellation as
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  well.
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  >> It's a truly global effort. Who else is
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  on the list?
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  >> We're also expecting launches from
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  Japan's Jaxa and Rocket Lap. And for the
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  human space flight fans, Blue Origin is
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  planning another crude suborbital
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  flight, sending more citizen astronauts
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  to the edge of space. It's an amazing
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  time to be a space enthusiast.
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  >> Absolutely. And all those launches
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  depend on having reliable infrastructure
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  on the ground. On that note, there's
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  some surprisingly good news coming out
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  of the biconer drrome cosmmorome.
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  >> That's right. Russia's space agency Ross
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  Cosmos has been working on repairs to a
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  launchpad that was damaged back in
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  November during a crude Soyuse launch.
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  Initially, the timeline for getting it
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  back in service looked pretty long,
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  >> which is a big deal considering how
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  historic and vital that launch site is.
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  So, what's the update? The news is
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  excellent. Ross Cosmos now expects the
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  pad to be fully operational by late
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  February 2026. That's significantly
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  sooner than many had anticipated, which
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  is great news for the operational tempo
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  of their launches. It's a real testament
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  to the engineering teams working on the
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  problem.
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  >> That really is fantastic news. Now,
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  let's travel from the launch pads of
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  Earth to the orbit of Mars, where a
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  veteran spacecraft has just hit an
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  incredible milestone. This is such a
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  wonderful story. NASA's Mars
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  Reconnaissance Orbiter or MRO, which has
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  been circling the red planet for nearly
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  two decades, has just captured its
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  100,000th image with its most powerful
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  camera. 100,000 images. The camera is
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  high-rise, right? The highresolution
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  imaging science experiment. The level of
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  detail it captures is just breathtaking.
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  What did they choose to photograph for
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  this landmark image? This is the best
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  part. The target wasn't chosen by a NASA
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  scientist or a principal investigator.
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  It was suggested by a high school
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  student through a public outreach
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  program called Highwish.
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  >> No way. That's brilliant. So, anyone can
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  suggest a target for one of the most
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  powerful cameras orbiting another
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  planet.
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  >> That's the program. And for its
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  100,000th photo, High-Rise captured a
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  stunning view of measunes in a region
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  called Certus Major. It's a beautiful
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  image and a fantastic example of how
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  NASA involves the public in the journey
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  of exploration.
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  >> What a legacy for that student and for
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  the MRO mission itself.
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  >> And speaking of getting involved in
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  space exploration, that brings us to our
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  final story. NASA has just launched a
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  new competition for college students and
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  it's a big one.
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  >> Oh, excellent. Tell us about it.
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  >> It's called the Orbit Challenge. That's
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  OBIT.
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  The goal is to get college students to
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  develop innovative solutions that can be
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  used both for life here on Earth and for
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  deep space exploration, especially with
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  an eye towards the Artemis program and
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  future missions to Mars.
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  >> That sounds like an amazing opportunity.
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  Is it just conceptual or are they
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  looking for real technical development?
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  >> It's quite serious. There's a prize pool
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  of up to $380,000.
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  Students are encouraged to work with
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  NASA's existing portfolio of patents or
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  to come up with their own brand new
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  concepts. They're really looking for the
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  next generation of innovators.
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  >> That's fantastic. a huge resume builder
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  and a chance to make a real impact. For
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  any students or educators listening,
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  what's the deadline?
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  >> Registration is open now and runs until
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  February 9th, 2026. So, there's plenty
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  of time to form a team and start
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  brainstorming.
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  >> From potentially common Earths to final
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  alien broadcasts, from the jam-packed
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  launch schedule to a student
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  photographed Mars, it's been another
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  incredible week in space news. And that
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  just about does it for today's episode
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  of Astronomy Daily.
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  >> We hope we've given you a few new things
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  to wonder about. The universe is a vast
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  and fascinating place, and we're
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  learning more about it every single day.
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  >> A huge thank you for tuning in and
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  joining us on this journey. We'll be
• 8:59
  back soon with more news from across the
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  cosmos. I'm Avery.
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  >> And I'm Anna. Until next time, keep
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  looking up.
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  Stories told
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  stories told
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  stories