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NASA’s New Leader, a Runaway Black Hole, and Mars’ Geological Secrets · Space News Today

• 0:00
  Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily,
• 0:03
  the podcast that brings the universe
• 0:05
  down to Earth. I'm your host, Avery.
• 0:08
  >> And I'm Anna. It's great to be with you
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  all again. Avery, the cosmos has been
• 0:13
  busy and we have some great stories for
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  you.
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  >> You are not kidding. We're talking about
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  a historic change at the top of NASA, a
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  super massive black hole on the run,
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  incredible news from Mars, a
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  surprisingly active moon, and a major
• 0:29
  leap forward for European space flight.
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  Where do we even begin?
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  >> Let's start here on Earth with a big
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  leadership announcement. It's been
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  confirmed that billionaire entrepreneur
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  and astronaut Jared Isaacman will be the
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  next head of NASA.
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  >> That is huge news. I mean, this is the
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  guy behind the Inspiration 4 and Polaris
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  Dawn missions. He's not just a funer.
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  He's actually flown to space.
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  >> Exactly. And that background is what
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  makes this appointment so fascinating.
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  Isaacman brings a deep understanding of
• 1:02
  the commercial space sector. This
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  signals a potential acceleration of the
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  partnership between NASA and private
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  companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and
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  others,
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  >> right? A shift in focus. So, we might
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  see more commercially driven missions,
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  maybe faster development cycles for new
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  technologies.
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  >> That seems to be the expectation. His
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  supporters believe his entrepreneurial
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  spirit could streamline some of NASA's
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  larger projects like the Aremis program.
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  However, some in the scientific
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  community are cautiously optimistic,
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  hoping the AY's core mission of pure
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  scientific research remains a top
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  priority.
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  >> It's a balancing act for sure. It will
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  be incredibly interesting to see how his
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  leadership shapes NASA's direction over
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  the next few years. Okay, from
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  leadership on Earth, let's head out to
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  the truly wild frontiers of space. Anna,
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  you have to tell us about this runaway
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  black hole. This story is just
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  breathtaking. Astronomers using the
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  James Webb telescope have confirmed
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  something they've never seen before. A
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  super massive black hole weighing as
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  much as 20 million suns hurtling through
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  intergalactic space.
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  >> Wow. How fast are we talking?
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  >> It's moving at about 2.2 million miles
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  hour. Fast enough to travel from the
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  Earth to the moon in about 6 minutes.
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  >> That is absolutely mindbending. But
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  that's not even the wildest part, is it?
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  >> Not at all. The most stunning part is
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  what it's leaving behind. As this black
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  hole plows through the gas between
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  galaxies, it's compressing that material
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  and triggering a massive wave of star
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  formation, it's dragging a tail of
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  newborn stars behind it that is 200,000
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  lightyears long.
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  >> 200,000 light years. That's twice the
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  diameter of our own Milky Way galaxy.
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  Just a tail of stars. So, it's both a
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  force of destruction and creation at the
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  same time.
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  >> Precisely. The theory is that this
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  happened because of a massive cosmic
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  collision. Two galaxies merged and their
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  central super massive black holes began
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  to orbit each other. Then a third galaxy
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  joined the fray and a complex
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  gravitational dance ejected one of the
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  black holes, sending it careening out of
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  its home galaxy.
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  >> It's like a gravitational slingshot on a
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  galactic scale. An incredible discovery
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  and what a testament to the power of the
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  JWST. It really is. Now, let's bring our
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  focus a little closer to home to our
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  neighbor Mars, where another NASA
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  mission is making history.
• 3:44
  >> Yes, let's talk about the Perseverance
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  rover. This machine is just an absolute
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  marathon runner. NASA recently announced
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  it has traveled almost 25 miles across
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  the surface of Mars.
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  >> Mhm. And after several years in a harsh
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  environment, it's still in excellent
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  condition. This mission has been a huge
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  success for autonomous navigation.
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  Perseverance is making many of its own
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  driving decisions to avoid hazards,
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  which allows it to cover ground much
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  faster than previous rovers.
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  >> It's an explorer in the truest sense.
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  And it's not just driving, it's doing
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  some groundbreaking science. Tell us
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  about the margin unit.
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  >> Right. So, Perseverance has been
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  exploring this area at the edge of
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  Jezero crater called the margin unit.
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  It's a geological treasure trove. The
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  rover has been analyzing rocks rich in
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  olivine, a mineral that on Earth is
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  often associated with water.
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  >> Okay, so olivine plus water. That's
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  always an exciting combination in the
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  search for life.
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  >> Indeed, the data suggests these rocks
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  interacted with liquid water and carbon
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  dioxide from the Martian atmosphere over
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  long periods. By studying these
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  interactions, scientists can piece
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  together what the Martian environment
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  was like billions of years ago and
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  assess whether it could have supported
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  microbial life.
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  >> And Perseverance has been drilling
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  samples from these rocks, right, to
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  eventually bring back to Earth.
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  >> Yes, it has been collecting a diverse
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  library of rock cores. The Mars sample
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  return mission is still in development.
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  But when those samples finally get into
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  labs here on Earth, they could
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  fundamentally change our understanding
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  of Mars and the potential for life
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  beyond our planet.
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  >> An amazing mission that just keeps on
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  giving. All right, let's hop from Mars
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  to our own moon, which is apparently not
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  the quiet, unchanging world we thought
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  it was.
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  >> That's right. New highresolution images
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  from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
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  or LRO have revealed massive cracks on
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  the moon's surface. These features are
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  called grains and they're essentially
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  trenches formed when the crust is pulled
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  apart.
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  >> Okay, so the crust is fracturing. What's
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  causing that?
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  >> These particular grabins are located
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  around Mari Humorum Basin, an area that
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  was once filled with volcanic lava. As
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  this immense sea of lava cooled and
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  solidified over millions of years, it
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  contracted. This contraction put immense
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  stress on the surrounding crust, causing
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  it to buckle and fracture, forming these
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  long linear valleys.
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  >> So, this is ancient history then from
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  when the moon was volcanically active.
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  >> Well, this is the surprising part. While
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  the process started long ago, analysis
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  of the images shows that some of these
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  grains are remarkably young in
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  geological terms. Some might be less
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  than 50 million years old.
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  >> 50 million years. That's practically
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  yesterday in geological time. So, the
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  moon's surface is still actively
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  changing. It's not a dead rock.
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  >> Exactly. It suggests the lunar interior
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  is still cooling and contracting. And
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  these surface features are the evidence.
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  It forces us to rethink the moon as a
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  dynamic evolving world, which has
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  important implications for future
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  long-term habitats and exploration.
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  >> Absolutely fascinating. Okay, for a
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  final story, we're back in Earth orbit,
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  celebrating a major milestone for the
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  European Space Agency.
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  >> Mhm. This is a big one for European
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  Space Autonomy. Just this week, Europe's
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  brand new Aron 6 rocket had its first
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  operational launch and it was a complete
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  success.
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  >> I know they've been waiting for this for
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  a long time. After the retirement of
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  Aron 5, there was a gap in Europe's
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  independent launch capability. This must
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  be a huge relief.
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  >> A massive relief. For the past couple of
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  years, Europe has had to rely on other
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  providers, including SpaceX, to launch
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  its critical satellites. The successful
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  launch of Aron 6 restores their ability
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  to independently access space, which is
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  crucial for both commercial and
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  strategic reasons.
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  >> So, what was on this inaugural flight?
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  >> The rocket carried two new satellites
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  for the Galileo constellation. This is
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  Europe's global navigation satellite
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  system, their equivalent of the American
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  GPS. Adding these new satellites
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  enhances the systems accuracy,
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  reliability, and coverage. So, this
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  isn't just a win for the rocket program,
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  but also for the millions of people who
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  will rely on the Galileo system for
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  everything from navigating their cars to
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  critical emergency services.
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  >> That's it. It's a dual victory that
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  solidifies Europe's position as a major
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  player in the global space industry. A
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  really significant step forward.
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  >> What a fantastic roundup. From new
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  leadership at NASA to cosmic fugitives
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  and evolving worlds right in our
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  backyard. It just goes to show that
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  there is always something new to
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  discover. Every day brings a revelation
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  that reshapes our understanding of the
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  universe.
• 8:50
  >> Well said, Anna. That's all the time we
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  have for today on Astronomy Daily. A big
• 8:54
  thank you to all of you for tuning in.
• 8:56
  You can find us on all major podcast
• 8:58
  platforms and on social media, Astro
• 9:01
  Daily Pod.
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  >> Join us again tomorrow as we continue to
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  explore the final frontier. Until then,
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  keep looking up.
• 9:10
  day.
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  Stories told
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