Latest / Space News Today / From Solar Eclipses to Voyager Discoveries: Your Daily Space Update

Transcript

From Solar Eclipses to Voyager Discoveries: Your Daily Space Update · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Welcome to Astronomy Daily, [music] your
• 0:02
  source for the latest news from across
• 0:03
  the cosmos. I'm Avery.
• 0:05
  >> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you
• 0:07
  today. We start [music] with a more
• 0:09
  comprehensive look ahead at the cosmic
• 0:11
  wonders 2026 has [music] in store for
• 0:13
  us. From moon missions to major
• 0:15
  eclipses.
• 0:16
  >> That's right. We'll also [music] dive
• 0:17
  into a mindbending discovery from the
• 0:19
  Voyager probes at the edge of our solar
• 0:22
  system and discuss Russia's new Earth
• 0:24
  observation satellite. Plus, scientists
• 0:26
  may [music] have found interstellar
• 0:28
  tunnels in our galactic neighborhood.
• 0:30
  And finally, we'll [music] cover the
• 0:31
  rapidly evolving commercial space race
• 0:34
  with updates on China's reusable rockets
• 0:36
  and the transformation of Florida's
• 0:39
  historic space coast. [music]
• 0:40
  >> It's a lot to cover, so let's get
• 0:42
  started. Anna, why don't you kick us off
• 0:44
  with the astronomical [music]
• 0:45
  forecast update for 2026?
• 0:48
  >> Absolutely, Avery. 2026 is shaping up to
• 0:51
  be a monumental year, especially for
• 0:53
  lunar exploration. NASA's Aremis program
• 0:56
  is sending the first astronauts to fly
• 0:58
  by the moon in over 50 years.
• 1:01
  >> And this is the mission that will pave
• 1:02
  the way for the actual moon landing.
• 1:04
  Right.
• 1:04
  >> Exactly. This crew, three Americans and
• 1:07
  one Canadian, will do a flyby of the far
• 1:09
  side, which could give us our first good
• 1:12
  look at areas the Apollo missions never
• 1:14
  saw. But they're not alone. We're also
• 1:16
  expecting a caravan of robotic landers
• 1:18
  from commercial companies,
• 1:20
  >> including Jeff Bezos's Blue Moon lander.
• 1:22
  I read that thing is going to be huge
• 1:24
  and taller than the Apollo landers.
• 1:26
  >> That's right. And companies like
• 1:28
  Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines are
• 1:30
  also heading back. While Firefly
• 1:33
  Aerospace is aiming for the moon's far
• 1:35
  side, even China is targeting the South
• 1:37
  Pole to search for ice.
• 1:39
  >> The moon is certainly getting busy. What
• 1:41
  about other celestial events? I heard
• 1:43
  there's a big eclipse coming. There is.
• 1:45
  On August 12th, a total solar eclipse
• 1:48
  will cross over the Arctic, Greenland,
• 1:50
  Iceland, and Spain. Totality will last
• 1:53
  just over 2 minutes. And for those at
• 1:55
  the other end of the world, there's a
• 1:57
  ring of fire eclipse in Antarctica in
• 2:00
  February.
• 2:00
  >> Sounds like a year for the eclipse
• 2:02
  chasers. And we also have those planet
• 2:04
  parades to look forward to.
• 2:05
  >> We do. At the end of February, six
• 2:08
  planets, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter,
• 2:10
  Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, will line
• 2:13
  up in the sky just after sunset. Mars
• 2:16
  will be the only one missing, but it
• 2:18
  joins a different six planet parade in
• 2:20
  August.
• 2:21
  >> Incredible. It seems there's something
• 2:23
  for everyone in 2026, from lunar
• 2:25
  missions to planetary alignments.
• 2:27
  >> It really does. And that's just the
• 2:29
  beginning. Let's move on to our next
• 2:31
  story, which takes us far beyond the
• 2:33
  moon, to the very edge of our solar
• 2:36
  system. Avery, what have the Voyager
• 2:38
  probes been up to?
• 2:39
  >> Well, this is a fascinating one. Voyager
• 2:41
  1 and two, NASA's longest running
• 2:43
  missions, have detected a searingly hot
• 2:46
  region of space where the sun's
• 2:48
  influence ends. Some are calling it a
• 2:50
  wall of fire.
• 2:51
  >> A wall of fire? That sounds intense.
• 2:55
  What exactly is it?
• 2:56
  >> It's a boundary zone at the edge of the
• 2:57
  heliosphere. That's the bubble created
• 2:59
  by the solar wind where temperatures
• 3:01
  spiked to between 30,000 and 50,000
• 3:04
  Kelvin. This region called the helio
• 3:07
  sheath acts as a sort of thermal
• 3:09
  barrier.
• 3:10
  >> That's incredibly hot. How did the probe
• 3:12
  survive passing through it?
• 3:14
  >> That's the key part. While the plasma
• 3:16
  particles are moving at extremely high
• 3:18
  velocities, creating that high
• 3:19
  temperature, the particle density is
• 3:21
  incredibly low. It's basically a near
• 3:24
  vacuum. So, there aren't enough
• 3:26
  particles hitting the spacecraft to
• 3:28
  transfer significant heat.
• 3:29
  >> Ah, that makes sense. High energy but
• 3:32
  low heat transfer. So, what does this
• 3:34
  discovery tell us?
• 3:36
  >> It's revising our understanding of how
• 3:37
  our solar system interacts with the
• 3:39
  wider galaxy. But the temperature spike
• 3:42
  wasn't the only surprise. The magnetic
• 3:44
  field data was also unexpected.
• 3:46
  >> Really? How so? Scientists found that
• 3:48
  the magnetic field lines just inside the
• 3:50
  heliosphere aligned with those in
• 3:52
  interstellar space just outside of it.
• 3:55
  They also discovered a leakage of
• 3:57
  particles through this boundary,
• 3:59
  suggesting the heliosphere isn't a
• 4:01
  perfect shield against galactic cosmic
• 4:03
  rays.
• 4:04
  >> So, our solar systems protective bubble
• 4:07
  is more permeable than we thought. The
• 4:09
  Voyager probes just keep delivering
• 4:11
  incredible science decades after their
• 4:14
  launch.
• 4:14
  >> They certainly do. Now, let's bring our
• 4:17
  focus a little closer to home. There's
• 4:19
  been a significant launch from Russia
• 4:21
  recently.
• 4:22
  >> Yes, Russia launched a Soyuse rocket
• 4:25
  carrying a new radar Earth observation
• 4:27
  satellite called Absor R number one. The
• 4:30
  launch took place at the Placets
• 4:32
  Cosmodrome, a site often used for
• 4:34
  military missions.
• 4:35
  >> And what makes this satellite so
• 4:37
  important is its radar capability.
• 4:39
  Unlike optical satellites that need
• 4:41
  clear skies and daylight, radar can see
• 4:44
  through clouds, smoke, and darkness,
• 4:46
  >> right? That gives it a huge strategic
• 4:49
  advantage for surveillance,
• 4:50
  environmental mapping, and disaster
• 4:52
  response. This mission really
• 4:54
  underscores Moscow's push to expand its
• 4:56
  own space-based intelligence
• 4:58
  capabilities, independent of any foreign
• 5:00
  partners.
• 5:01
  >> So, this is a big step for their
• 5:03
  sovereign space program.
• 5:05
  >> It is. The Absor R series represents a
• 5:08
  new generation of homegrown Russian
• 5:10
  radar systems. It's a dualuse technology
• 5:13
  serving both military and civilian
• 5:15
  needs. And it's a clear geopolitical
• 5:18
  statement in a world where remote
• 5:19
  sensing is more critical than ever.
• 5:22
  >> A powerful tool indeed. Well, from
• 5:24
  geopolitical moves in orbit, let's turn
• 5:27
  to a discovery that feels like it's
• 5:29
  straight out of science fiction. Anna,
• 5:31
  you mentioned something about
• 5:32
  interstellar tunnels. I did, and it's
• 5:35
  just as cool as it sounds. Using the
• 5:38
  Erosa Space Telescope, scientists have
• 5:41
  detected narrow structures of hot plasma
• 5:43
  that seem to extend from the bubble of
• 5:45
  space surrounding our sun out into the
• 5:48
  wider galaxy.
• 5:49
  >> Wow. So, these are like corridors
• 5:51
  through the interstellar medium. What
• 5:53
  could have formed them?
• 5:55
  >> The leading theory is that they were
• 5:56
  carved out by ancient supernova
• 5:58
  explosions. Our solar system sits inside
• 6:01
  something called the local hot bubble. a
• 6:04
  300 lightyear wide cavity that was
• 6:06
  itself formed by supernova about 10 to
• 6:09
  20 million years ago.
• 6:10
  >> Right. I've heard of that.
• 6:12
  >> Well, scientists have long theorized
• 6:14
  that these bubbles could be
• 6:16
  interconnected, forming a kind of
• 6:18
  network. These new X-ray observations
• 6:20
  from Erosa are providing the first real
• 6:23
  evidence that these tunnels or chimneys
• 6:25
  might actually exist, connecting our
• 6:28
  local bubble to other regions.
• 6:30
  >> That's incredible. It paints a picture
• 6:31
  of our galaxy's structure that's much
• 6:33
  more complex and dynamic than just empty
• 6:36
  space between stars.
• 6:37
  >> It really does. The data also showed a
• 6:40
  temperature difference between the
• 6:41
  northern and southern halves of our
• 6:43
  bubble, suggesting it's not a uniform
• 6:45
  sphere, but has been shaped by
• 6:47
  asymmetrical forces. It could be that
• 6:50
  these tunnels act as pathways for cosmic
• 6:52
  rays and gas to flow through the galaxy.
• 6:55
  >> A galactic subway system of sorts.
• 6:57
  Amazing. This brings us to the
• 6:59
  commercial side of space, which is also
• 7:01
  creating new pathways, albeit to orbit.
• 7:04
  The reusable rocket race is heating up,
• 7:07
  and it's not just SpaceX anymore.
• 7:09
  >> That's right. The Chinese rocket startup
• 7:11
  Land Space has made it clear they're
• 7:13
  inspired by SpaceX. They recently
• 7:15
  conducted the first reusable rocket test
• 7:18
  by a Chinese entity with their Zuki 3
• 7:20
  rocket,
• 7:21
  >> and they've been very open about
• 7:23
  modeling it after the Falcon 9. The
• 7:25
  deputy chief designer even called it a
• 7:27
  high compliment to be referred to as the
• 7:29
  Chinese Falcon 9.
• 7:31
  >> It's a major paradigm shift. China's
• 7:34
  state-led space program has historically
• 7:36
  been very riskaverse, whereas land space
• 7:39
  is embracing the test, fail iterate
• 7:41
  philosophy that SpaceX is famous for.
• 7:43
  Their first test actually ended in a
• 7:45
  crash, but state media covered it
• 7:47
  openly. Elon Musk himself even commented
• 7:50
  on it, noting that they've adopted
• 7:52
  aspects of both Falcon 9 and Starship.
• 7:55
  He acknowledged their design could
• 7:57
  potentially beat Falcon 9, though he
• 7:59
  added that Starship is in another
• 8:01
  league.
• 8:02
  >> It shows how quickly the global
• 8:04
  landscape is changing. With Beijing
• 8:06
  support and plans for massive satellite
• 8:09
  constellations, lowcost reusable launch
• 8:11
  is a top priority. It's also worth
• 8:14
  remembering that SpaceX had two failed
• 8:16
  booster landing attempts before their
• 8:18
  first success in 2015.
• 8:20
  >> A very good point. And speaking of
• 8:23
  launch infrastructure, our final story
• 8:25
  looks at how two other ambitious
• 8:27
  companies are transforming the iconic
• 8:30
  Space Coast in Florida.
• 8:32
  >> This is really exciting. Stoke space and
• 8:35
  Relativity Space are rapidly building
• 8:37
  out launch sites at Cape Canaveral.
• 8:39
  Stoke space is at launch complex 14
• 8:42
  which is a site rich with history.
• 8:44
  >> That's the pad where John Glenn became
• 8:46
  the first American to orbit the Earth
• 8:48
  back in 1962. It's been inactive for
• 8:52
  over 50 years and now it's being prepped
• 8:54
  for Stoke's fully reusable Nova rocket.
• 8:57
  >> Exactly. Aerial views show the launchpad
• 9:00
  is nearly complete. And right next door
• 9:02
  at launch complex 16, Relativity Space
• 9:05
  is making massive upgrades for its much
• 9:07
  larger Tan R rocket.
• 9:10
  >> The progress there is really visible.
• 9:12
  They've installed a towering water tower
• 9:14
  for the Delu system, added huge new
• 9:17
  propellant tanks, and are pouring
• 9:19
  concrete for the launch mount.
• 9:20
  >> It's a perfect example of how the Space
• 9:23
  Coast is evolving, reviving historic
• 9:25
  sites to become hubs for the next
• 9:27
  generation of space flight. Stoke is
• 9:29
  targeting a first launch in early 2026
• 9:32
  with Relativity aiming for late 2026.
• 9:36
  >> It truly shows the accelerating pace of
• 9:38
  the commercial space industry. And that
• 9:41
  brings us to the end of our show for
• 9:42
  today.
• 9:43
  >> We've journeyied from the celestial
• 9:45
  events of 2026 to the edge of the solar
• 9:48
  system and seen how new technologies on
• 9:50
  Earth are poised to reshape our access
• 9:53
  to space.
• 9:54
  >> Thanks so much for joining us. I'm
• 9:56
  Avery.
• 9:56
  >> And I'm Anna. We'll see you next time on
• 9:59
  Astronomy
• 9:59
  >> Daily.
• 10:01
  [music and singing]
• 10:11
  Stories [music] to tell.