Latest / Space News Today / A Silent Mars Orbiter Update, Interstellar Comet Encounters, and Mining the Cosmos

Transcript

A Silent Mars Orbiter Update, Interstellar Comet Encounters, and Mining the Cosmos · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
• 0:03
  the podcast that brings you the universe
• 0:05
  one day at a time. I'm Avery.
• 0:08
  >> And I'm Anna. Today we're covering
• 0:10
  everything from an update to a
• 0:11
  spacecraft anomaly at Mars to potential
• 0:14
  signs of primordial dinosaur stars.
• 0:17
  >> That's right. We'll also be looking at a
• 0:20
  successful private spacecraft rendevous,
• 0:22
  our visiting interstellar comet, the
• 0:25
  dazzling Gemini meteor shower, and the
• 0:27
  future of asteroid mining. So, let's get
• 0:30
  started.
• 0:31
  >> First up, an update on some concerning
• 0:33
  news from the red planet. NASA's Maven
• 0:36
  spacecraft, which has been studying the
• 0:38
  Martian atmosphere since 2014, has gone
• 0:40
  silent, as we reported late last week.
• 0:43
  >> Yeah, this is a tough one. The mission
• 0:46
  team reported losing connection on the
• 0:48
  6th, and so far, they haven't been able
• 0:50
  to reestablish a connection.
• 0:52
  >> What's the leading theory on what
• 0:54
  happened? Well, they did receive a very
• 0:56
  brief signal on the 6th, and an analysis
• 0:59
  of that signal suggests the spacecraft
• 1:01
  was rotating unexpectedly.
• 1:03
  That could mean its orbit has changed,
• 1:05
  which would explain the communication
• 1:07
  loss.
• 1:08
  >> And Maven isn't just a science orbiter.
• 1:10
  It's also a crucial communication relay
• 1:12
  for the rovers on the surface. Right.
• 1:14
  >> Exactly. The good news is that NASA is
• 1:17
  already mitigating the impact. They're
• 1:19
  rerouting communications through their
• 1:21
  other three orbiters at Mars, the Mars
• 1:23
  Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey,
• 1:25
  and ISA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.
• 1:28
  >> So, Perseverance and Curiosity can
• 1:31
  continue their work.
• 1:32
  >> That's the plan. The rover teams have
• 1:34
  had to adjust her daily planning, but
• 1:36
  the missions are continuing. Still, it's
• 1:39
  a significant loss if Maven can't be
• 1:41
  recovered.
• 1:42
  >> It's worth reminding our listeners just
• 1:44
  how important Maven's primary mission
• 1:46
  has been. It stands for Mars atmosphere
• 1:48
  and volatile evolution. Its entire
• 1:51
  purpose was to figure out how Mars lost
• 1:53
  its once thick atmosphere and abundant
• 1:56
  water.
• 1:56
  >> That's right. It carried a suite of
• 1:59
  instruments to study the upper
• 2:00
  atmosphere, the ionosphere, and its
• 2:02
  interactions with the solar wind. It's
• 2:05
  thanks to Maven that we have a much
• 2:06
  clearer picture of Mars' climate history
• 2:09
  and its transition from a potentially
• 2:11
  habitable world to the cold, dry planet
• 2:13
  we see today. So, the loss of Maven
• 2:16
  isn't just an operational setback for
• 2:18
  the rovers. It's a scientific one, too.
• 2:21
  Let's hope the team can work some magic
• 2:22
  and get it back online. The data it
• 2:25
  provides is invaluable.
• 2:27
  >> That's right. We're keeping our fingers
• 2:28
  crossed for the mission team.
• 2:30
  >> From a mission in trouble to a mission
• 2:32
  demonstrating incredible new
• 2:34
  capabilities. Two private companies,
• 2:36
  Starfish Space and Impulse Space, have
• 2:39
  successfully performed a surprise
• 2:41
  rendevous in Earth orbit. This is a
• 2:43
  really cool story. It's part of a
• 2:45
  mission called Reora. Essentially, an
• 2:47
  orbital transfer vehicle from Impulse
• 2:49
  Space named Meera used autonomous
• 2:52
  software developed by Starfish to
• 2:54
  approach a second Mirror spacecraft.
• 2:56
  >> How close did they get?
• 2:58
  >> Within 4,100 ft or about 1,250 m. What's
• 3:02
  amazing is that this was a 9-month
• 3:04
  project from conception to execution.
• 3:07
  The second mirror launched in January
• 3:09
  2025 and met up with the first one which
• 3:12
  had been in orbit since November 2023.
• 3:15
  >> That's incredibly fast for a space
• 3:17
  mission. And this kind of autonomous
• 3:19
  rendevous is a critical step for future
• 3:21
  satellite servicing. Right. Things like
• 3:23
  refueling, repairs, or even deorbiting
• 3:26
  space junk.
• 3:27
  >> Absolutely. This isn't Starfish's first
• 3:29
  success either. They had another
• 3:31
  mission, Otter Pup 1, that maneuvered
• 3:33
  close to a different space tug back in
• 3:35
  April 2024. They are really proving out
• 3:38
  the technology for a new era of in space
• 3:41
  logistics.
• 3:42
  >> Next up, as you probably know by now, we
• 3:44
  have a special visitor from outside our
• 3:46
  solar system. The interstellar comet 3i
• 3:49
  Atlas is set to make its closest
• 3:52
  approach to Earth on December 19th.
• 3:54
  That's this coming Friday. This is only
• 3:56
  the third confirmed interstellar object
• 3:59
  we've ever detected after Umu Amua and
• 4:02
  Borosov. It's a really rare event.
• 4:05
  >> And when we say closest approach, we
• 4:08
  should clarify it's passing at a very
• 4:10
  safe distance.
• 4:11
  >> Oh, absolutely. About 1.8 astronomical
• 4:14
  units away. That's around 168 million
• 4:17
  miles. So, no need to worry. But it's
• 4:20
  close enough for our telescopes to get a
• 4:22
  fantastic look. And that's the real
• 4:24
  prize here, isn't it? The chance to
• 4:26
  study its composition and learn about
• 4:28
  the materials that make up other star
• 4:30
  systems.
• 4:31
  >> Mhm. Observatories like the Hubble Space
• 4:34
  Telescope and even ESA's Juice Probe,
• 4:37
  which is on its way to Jupiter, have
• 4:38
  already been observing it. For everyone
• 4:41
  at home, the virtual telescope project
• 4:43
  will be hosting a free live stream, so
• 4:45
  you can see this interstellar visitor
• 4:47
  for yourself.
• 4:48
  >> Put it in your diary. This is one of
• 4:50
  those opportunities that doesn't come
• 4:51
  around too often. All right, let's go
• 4:54
  from visitors from other stars to the
• 4:56
  stars themselves, the very first ones.
• 4:59
  Anna, this next story about the James
• 5:01
  Webb Space Telescope is mindbending.
• 5:04
  >> It really is. JWST may have found the
• 5:07
  first evidence of what some are calling
• 5:10
  dinosaur stars. These aren't just big,
• 5:12
  they are truly colossal stars from the
• 5:15
  very early universe with masses
• 5:17
  potentially up to 10,000 times that of
• 5:20
  our own sun. 10,000 times? That's almost
• 5:23
  impossible to imagine. How would a star
• 5:25
  like that even exist?
• 5:27
  >> Well, the theory is they would have
• 5:29
  lived very short, incredibly brilliant
• 5:31
  lives before collapsing directly into
• 5:34
  massive black holes. And this could be
• 5:36
  the missing piece of a major puzzle in
• 5:38
  cosmology.
• 5:39
  >> You mean how super massive black holes
• 5:41
  got so big so fast in the early cosmos?
• 5:45
  >> Exactly. These dinosaur stars would
• 5:48
  provide the perfect seeds. The evidence
• 5:50
  comes from a galaxy named GS3073,
• 5:54
  which has a very unusual chemical
• 5:56
  signature, specifically a strange
• 5:58
  nitrogen to oxygen ratio. Right? And
• 6:01
  that signature matches the theoretical
• 6:04
  models of what these super massive
• 6:05
  primordial stars would produce. They'd
• 6:08
  get so hot they could fuse carbon and
• 6:10
  hydrogen together, creating enormous
• 6:12
  amounts of nitrogen that later enrich
• 6:14
  the galaxy. It's an incredible find by
• 6:17
  Web. And this discovery opens up a whole
• 6:20
  new field of study. If these dinosaur
• 6:22
  stars were common in the early universe,
• 6:25
  it would fundamentally change our models
• 6:27
  of galaxy formation. It suggests that
• 6:29
  the first galaxies were seated with
• 6:31
  massive black holes almost immediately.
• 6:34
  >> It also raises new questions. For
• 6:36
  instance, what were the conditions that
• 6:38
  allowed stars to grow to such
• 6:40
  unimaginable sizes? The early universe
• 6:42
  was a very different place, mostly
• 6:45
  hydrogen and helium without the heavier
• 6:47
  elements that help cool gas clouds and
• 6:49
  limit star size today.
• 6:51
  >> So, the next step for astronomers will
• 6:53
  be to hunt for more galaxies with this
• 6:55
  unique chemical fingerprint. If they can
• 6:57
  find a population of them, it would move
• 6:59
  this from a fascinating possibility to a
• 7:02
  cornerstone of early universe cosmology.
• 7:05
  It's a testament to Web's power that we
• 7:07
  can even ask these questions. And yet
• 7:09
  another great example of the JWST's
• 7:13
  value to us here on Earth.
• 7:15
  >> Okay, bringing our focus back closer to
• 7:17
  home, sky watchers were treated to a
• 7:19
  phenomenal display over the past week.
• 7:21
  The Gemini meteor shower peaked on
• 7:24
  December 13th and it was truly
• 7:26
  spectacular.
• 7:27
  >> I saw some of the photos coming in
• 7:29
  online and they were breathtaking. The
• 7:31
  Geminites are always one of the best
• 7:33
  showers of the year, known for their
• 7:35
  bright, fast meteors. And they're
• 7:37
  interesting because they don't come from
• 7:39
  a comet. The debris that creates the
• 7:41
  meteors is from an asteroid named 3200
• 7:44
  Fthon.
• 7:45
  >> That's right. Astrophotographers
• 7:47
  captured some stunning images from all
• 7:49
  over the world. There are shots from
• 7:51
  Yusede National Park from across China
• 7:54
  and Germany showing these bright streaks
• 7:56
  of light against familiar constellations
• 7:59
  like Gemini, Taurus, and Orion. It's a
• 8:02
  beautiful reminder of the celestial
• 8:04
  mechanics happening all around us. And
• 8:06
  speaking of asteroids, our final story
• 8:08
  looks at their potential, not as a
• 8:10
  source of meteor showers, but as a
• 8:12
  source of resources for future space
• 8:14
  exploration. We're talking about
• 8:16
  asteroid mining.
• 8:18
  >> This has been a staple of science
• 8:20
  fiction for decades. But a recent study
• 8:22
  suggests that small asteroids could be
• 8:25
  the key to making missions to the moon
• 8:27
  and Mars more sustainable.
• 8:28
  >> So, what kind of materials are we
• 8:30
  looking for?
• 8:31
  >> The researchers focused on a type called
• 8:33
  carbonatous condrites. These are fragile
• 8:36
  asteroids rich in carbon, organic
• 8:38
  compounds, and potentially valuable
• 8:40
  metals. Most importantly, many contain
• 8:43
  water ice.
• 8:44
  >> And water is the gold of space
• 8:46
  exploration. You can use it for life
• 8:48
  support, and you can split it into
• 8:49
  hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel.
• 8:52
  >> Precisely. Now, we should be clear that
• 8:54
  the technology for largecale extraction
• 8:56
  is still a long way off. The loose
• 8:59
  grally surface of these asteroids, the
• 9:01
  regalith, presents a lot of engineering
• 9:03
  challenges.
• 9:04
  >> But the potential is huge. It's not just
• 9:07
  about fuel and resources. Studying these
• 9:09
  asteroids up close could also help us
• 9:11
  understand and figure out how to
• 9:13
  mitigate any potentially hazardous
• 9:15
  asteroids that might threaten Earth.
• 9:16
  It's a technology with dual benefits.
• 9:19
  >> It's a fascinating prospect. But beyond
• 9:22
  the engineering challenges of actually
• 9:24
  grabbing onto and processing these loose
• 9:26
  piles of rubble, there's also the
• 9:28
  economic and legal side of things, the
• 9:31
  1967 outer space treaty is a bit
• 9:33
  ambiguous on the ownership of space
• 9:35
  resources.
• 9:36
  >> That's a key point. Countries like the
• 9:38
  United States and Luxembourg have passed
• 9:41
  national laws recognizing the right of
• 9:43
  private companies to own resources they
• 9:45
  extract. But there isn't a global
• 9:47
  consensus yet. It's a new frontier, not
• 9:49
  just technologically, but legally as
• 9:51
  well.
• 9:52
  >> And economically, the initial investment
• 9:55
  is astronomical. No pun intended. The
• 9:57
  business case relies on creating a
• 9:59
  self-sustaining inspace economy. You're
• 10:02
  not bringing these materials back to
• 10:04
  Earth. You're using them to build and
• 10:06
  fuel operations in space, making
• 10:09
  everything cheaper in the long run.
• 10:10
  >> It's the ultimate long-term investment.
• 10:13
  But with companies like Astroforge and
• 10:15
  Transastra already developing
• 10:17
  technologies and planning missions, it
• 10:19
  feels like we're on the cusp of this
• 10:21
  science fiction concept becoming a
• 10:23
  reality. It will be exciting to see how
• 10:25
  it unfolds over the next decade.
• 10:27
  >> And that's all the time we have for
• 10:29
  today. From a still silent orbiter at
• 10:31
  Mars to the promise of mining asteroids,
• 10:34
  it's been another busy day in space and
• 10:36
  astronomy news.
• 10:37
  >> Thanks for tuning in to Astronomy Daily.
• 10:39
  We'll be back tomorrow with another
• 10:41
  roundup of the latest from our amazing
• 10:43
  universe. Until then, I'm Avery
• 10:45
  >> and I'm Anna. Keep looking up.
• 10:47
  >> Day
• 10:50
  stories be told.