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Rocket Lab’s Hungry Hippos Arrive!| NASA Enlists Global Volunteers for Artemis II · Space News Today

0:00
Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source
0:03
for the latest space and astronomy news.
0:06
I'm Anna.
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>> And I'm Avery. Thanks for joining us on
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this Saturday, January 24th, 2026.
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We've got some fantastic stories lined
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up for you today.
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>> We certainly do. From rocket development
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milestones to prehistoric lunar
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discoveries, today's episode is packed
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with celestial intrigue. Let's dive
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right in with our top story. Rocket
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Lab's ambitious Neutron rocket has hit a
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significant milestone even though it
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came with a bit of a bump in the road.
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Anna, what's the latest from Wallops
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Island? Well, Avery, it's a story of
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both triumph and setback. The good news
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first, Rocket Lab's innovative hungry
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hippo fairings have successfully arrived
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at Wallops Island, Virginia after a
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month-long sea journey from New Zealand.
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aboard the vessel Northstar Integrity.
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These aren't your typical payload
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fairings. They're part of Neutron's
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groundbreaking reusable system.
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>> Right. And what makes these hungry
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hippos so special?
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>> Great question. Unlike traditional
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fairings that are jettisoned and lost
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during flight, these clamshellike
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structures actually stay attached to the
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first stage as it returns home. They
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open to release the second stage and
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payload, then close back up for the ride
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home. It's a clever design that should
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help drive down launch costs through
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rapid reuse.
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>> That's fascinating engineering, but you
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mentioned a setback.
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>> Unfortunately, yes. While the fairings
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were making their journey, Rocket Lab
1:44
experienced a tank rupture during
1:46
qualification trials at their Middle
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River, Maryland facility. A first stage
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carbon composite tank failed during
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hydrostatic pressure testing. That's
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where they fill the structure with water
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and gradually increase pressure to
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verify it can handle operational loads.
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>> Ouch. How significant is that?
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>> Well, Rocket Lab was quick to emphasize
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that testing failures like this, while
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disappointing, are actually part of the
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rigorous development process for high
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performance rockets. They deliberately
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stress hardware to its limits and beyond
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to ensure reliability. The tank was
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found collapsed into a pile of debris.
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But the company maintains this is
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exactly why they test to find these
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issues on the ground rather than during
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flight.
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>> Silver lining thinking and the program
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moves forward.
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>> Absolutely. With the hungry hippo
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fairings now at Wallops, engineers can
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proceed with integration testing, fit
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checks, electrical interfaces, and
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eventually static fire preparations. The
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launch mount is already in place with
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the test stand ready for major testing
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with the rocket's second stage.
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>> Exciting times for commercial space
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flight. Now, speaking of major missions,
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NASA has some news about tracking the
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upcoming Artemis 2 mission, right?
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>> They do indeed. NASA has selected 34
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global volunteers from 14 different
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countries to track the Orion spacecraft
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during its journey around the moon. This
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is a significant expansion from the
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Aremis 1 mission which had only 10
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volunteers.
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>> So what exactly will these volunteers be
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doing?
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>> They'll be using their own equipment.
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Everything from established commercial
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service providers to university research
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facilities to individual amateur radio
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enthusiasts to passively track radio
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waves transmitted by Orion during its
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approximately 10day mission. We're
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talking about 47 ground assets spanning
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the globe.
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>> That's impressive international
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cooperation. Who made the cut?
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>> The list is quite diverse. Government
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agencies like the Canadian Space Agency
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and Germany's DLR are participating.
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Commercial companies include Goonhilly
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Earth Station in the UK, Kongsburg
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Satellite Services in Norway, and
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Intuitive Machines in Houston.
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Universities like UC Berkeley, the
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University of Pittsburgh, and even
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Morehead State University in Kentucky
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are involved.
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>> What about amateur radio operators?
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>> Oh, yes, they're well represented. We've
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got individuals like Chris Swire from
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South Dakota and Dan Slater from
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California. Amateur radio organizations
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from Argentina, Germany, the
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Netherlands, and France are also
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participating. It's truly a global
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effort.
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>> And this data they collect, what's NASA
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doing with it?
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>> The volunteers will submit their
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tracking data to NASA for analysis. This
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helps the agency assess the broader
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aerospace community's tracking
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capabilities and identify ways to
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augment future moon and Mars mission
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support. Kevin Coggins, NASA's deputy
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associate administrator for space
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communications and navigation, called it
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a real step toward SCAN's commercial
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first vision.
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>> Building that public private ecosystem
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for deep space exploration.
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>> Exactly. Now, let's shift gears to some
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groundbreaking lunar research.
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Scientists analyzing samples from
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China's Chonga 6 mission have made a
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discovery that helps explain one of the
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moon's most puzzling features,
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>> the asymmetry between the near and far
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sides.
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>> Precisely. You know how the near side of
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the moon has all those dark maria, those
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vast volcanic planes that formed the man
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in the moon pattern we're all familiar
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with? The far side has barely any.
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>> I've always found that fascinating. What
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did they discover?
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>> Tong A6 brought back samples from the
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south pole atkin basin, which is one of
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the largest impact features in the
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entire solar system, about 1,600 miles
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wide and between 4.2 2 and 4.3 billion
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years old. Much older than the lunar
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maria which are around 3.6 billion years
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old.
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>> And what did these ancient samples
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reveal?
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>> The research team led by Hang Ton from
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the Chinese Academy of Sciences found
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something unusual in the basaltic rock
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samples, an abnormal ratio of potassium
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isotopes. Specifically, they found more
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of the heavier potassium 41 relative to
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potassium 39 compared to samples from
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the near side.
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>> What would cause that?
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>> After exploring several possibilities,
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cosmic ray irradiation, magma processes,
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meteoritic contamination, they concluded
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that this isotopic signature is a relic
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of the giant impact that formed the
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south pole atkin basin itself. So the
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impact actually changed the moon's
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chemistry.
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>> Not just changed it, it fundamentally
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altered it. The impact was so violent
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that it heated the moon's crust and
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mantle intensely, causing many volatile
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elements, including potassium, to
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evaporate and escape into space. The
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lighter potassium 39 isotope evaporated
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more easily than the heavier one,
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leaving behind this unusual ratio.
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>> That's incredible detective work. And
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this explains the lack of maria on the
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far side.
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>> Exactly. The reduction in volatiles
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would have suppressed magma formation,
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limiting volcanism on the far side. It
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shows how deeply that ancient impact
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affected the moon's interior and why
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isotopic analysis can provide windows
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into the conditions of such catastrophic
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events. This research was published in
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the proceedings of the National Academy
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of Sciences.
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>> Fascinating stuff. Now, here's something
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a bit more down to earth, even if it's
7:52
going to space. Anna, tell us about the
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startup that's making space memorials
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affordable.
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>> This is a really interesting story,
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Avery. A startup called Space Beyond,
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founded by Ryan Mitchell, is planning to
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send up to 1,000 people's ashes to space
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in October 2027 for as little as $249,
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dramatically cheaper than traditional
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space memorial services that typically
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cost thousands of dollars.
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>> That's quite a price difference. How are
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they pulling this off?
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>> It's all about smart use of existing
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infrastructure. They're using a Cubsat,
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one of those miniature cube- shaped
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satellites that will launch as a ride
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share payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9
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rocket. The ride share model has really
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democratized access to space.
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>> And Ryan Mitchell, he's got some serious
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space credentials. Right.
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>> Absolutely. He worked on NASA's space
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shuttle program and spent nearly a
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decade at Blue Origin. The idea actually
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came to him while attending a family
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member's ash spreading ceremony. He
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thought, "How could I do this better?"
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And thus, Space Beyond was born.
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>> But there must be some limitations with
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such an affordable service.
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>> There are customers can only send about
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1 g of ashes, a practical limit due to
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weight considerations and the need to
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fit many customers remains in the Cubat.
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The satellite will only orbit for about
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5 years before burning up in Earth's
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atmosphere. So, it's not forever. Though
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that fiery ending has a certain poetic
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quality to it.
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>> Mitchell certainly thinks so. Plus, the
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Cubat will be in a suns synchronous
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orbit at about 550 km altitude, meaning
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it'll fly over the entire globe. With
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modern spacecraft tracking services,
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families should be able to locate it and
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know when it's passing overhead.
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>> That's actually really touching. And
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importantly, they're not spreading the
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ashes in space. Right.
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>> Correct. Mitchell called that an almost
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nightmare scenario because the particles
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could create a debris cloud that could
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endanger other spacecraft. Since
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customers only send about a gram, they
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can do what they wish with the rest.
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>> Thoughtful approach to a sensitive
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service. Now, let's talk about something
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that might literally redefine astronomy.
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Anna, tell us about this massive
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potential exomoon.
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>> This one's mindbending, Avery.
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Astronomers using the gravity instrument
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on the Very Large Telescope in Chile
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have detected what might be an exomoon
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orbiting the gas giant HD206893b
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located 133 light years from Earth. But
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here's the kicker. This moon is so
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massive that it might force us to
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rethink the word moon even means.
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>> How massive are we talking?
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>> Get this. They estimate it could be as
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much as 40% the mass of Jupiter or about
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nine times the mass of Neptune. To put
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that in perspective, it's thousands of
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times heavier than any moon in our solar
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system. Anamine, Jupiter's largest moon
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and the biggest in our solar system, is
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thousands of times less massive than
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Neptune.
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>> Wow. So, how did they even detect
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something like this? Through a technique
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called astrometry, which precisely
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tracks the position of celestial bodies
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over time, the team led by Quentyn Crawl
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from the University of Cambridge
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observed a measurable wobble in HD
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206893b's
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motion, a back and forth movement with a
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period of about 9 months.
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>> And that wobble is the moon's
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gravitational tug.
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>> Exactly. PL explained that the wobble
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has a size comparable to the Earth moon
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distance, which is the exact signature
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you'd expect from an unseen companion.
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The potential moon's orbit is also
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tilted by roughly 60°, suggesting a
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turbulent history of gravitational
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interactions.
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>> So, at what point does something stop
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being a moon and become a binary
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companion?
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>> That's the milliondoll question. Crawl
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noted that at these masses, the
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distinction between a massive moon and a
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low mass companion becomes blurred.
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There's currently no official definition
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of an exomoon. So, astronomers generally
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refer to any object orbiting a planet as
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a moon.
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>> This could force a redefin
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>> potentially. Crawl suggested that as
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observational techniques improve, our
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definitions and understanding of what
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constitutes a moon will almost certainly
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evolve. He also pointed out that we're
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likely only seeing the tip of the
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iceberg. Just as the first exoplanets
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discovered were massive ones close to
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their stars because they were easiest to
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detect, the first exomoons we identify
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will be the most massive and extreme
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examples.
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>> Finding exomoons is challenging. I
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imagine
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>> extremely the signals they produce are
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minute, often lost in the noise of their
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parent planet's data. The transit method
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that's revolutionized exoplanet
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discovery is less effective for moons
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because they produce light dips too
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faint to distinguish. But astrometry
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offers a new path forward, especially
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for detecting companions in far orbits
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where large stable moons are more likely
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to exist.
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>> This research was published in astronomy
13:15
and astrophysics. It's been accepted for
13:18
publication there and it's currently
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available as a pre- peer-reviewed paper
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on archive. If confirmed, this would not
13:24
only expand our catalog of celestial
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bodies, but force astronomers to rethink
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one of the oldest definitions in
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planetary science.
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>> Incredible. And finally, Anna, we have a
13:36
story that might rewrite history or at
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least rename a famous comet.
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>> That's right. New research suggests that
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Haley's comet might be wrongly named.
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Turns out an 11th century English monk
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named Elmer of Malmsbury understood the
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comet's periodic nature centuries before
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the British astronomer Edmund Haley.
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>> Wait, so Halley wasn't the first to
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figure this out? According to research
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by professor Simon Portiges wart and
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colleagues published in the book
14:07
Doristad and everything after Ilmer
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witnessed Haley's comet twice in 989 CE
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and again in 1066 CE and realized it was
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the same comet returning.
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>> How do we know this?
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>> The events are described by the 12th
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century chronicler William of Malssbury.
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But this connection had gone unnoticed
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by scholars until now. The 1066
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appearance is actually depicted on the
14:34
famous Bayou tapestry which illustrates
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the events of that year including the
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Norman conquest of England.
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>> So Ilmer must have been quite elderly to
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see it twice.
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>> Exactly. Given that the comet appears
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roughly 76 years, he would have been
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advanced in age when he witnessed it for
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the second time. And here's a
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fascinating detail. As was customary at
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the time when he saw it in 1066, the
15:01
king was warned of impending disaster.
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The comet appeared during the brief
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reign of King Harold Godwinson, who died
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at the Battle of Hastings that October.
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>> Medieval people really did see comets as
15:14
omens, didn't they?
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>> They did indeed. The research shows that
15:18
comet appearances around this time were
15:21
consistently associated with the deaths
15:23
of kings, war, or famine in the British
15:26
Isles. The researchers even found what
15:28
might be historical fake news. A comment
15:31
supposedly seen before the death of
15:33
Archbishop Cydrich of Canterbury in 995,
15:36
which wasn't actually recorded in the
15:38
Chronicles, possibly an exaggeration to
15:41
frighten people.
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>> So, what are the researchers calling
15:44
for? They're arguing that Haley's comet
15:47
should be given a different name since
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it had been observed twice and its
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periodicity understood centuries before
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Haley's work. Portuge's wart mentioned
15:56
that while the research was fun to do,
15:58
it was challenging working in such an
16:00
interdisciplinary project alongside a
16:02
historian. Nevertheless, they plan to
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carry out further research into periodic
16:07
comet.
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>> It's amazing how interdisciplinary
16:10
research can uncover these historical
16:12
oversightes. It really is. And it shows
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that scientific discovery isn't always
16:18
about new observations. Sometimes it's
16:20
about looking at old records with fresh
16:23
eyes. Well, that's all the time we have
16:25
for today's episode. What a journey
16:27
we've been on. From rocket fairings to
16:29
ancient lunar impacts, affordable space
16:32
memorials to massive exomoons, and
16:34
historical comet discoveries.
16:37
>> It never ceases to amaze me how much is
16:39
happening in space and astronomy every
16:42
single day. From cutting edge
16:44
engineering to billion-year-old
16:45
mysteries, there's always something new
16:47
to learn.
16:48
>> Thanks so much for tuning in to
16:50
Astronomy Daily. Be sure to visit our
16:52
website at astronomydaily.io
16:54
for detailed show notes, transcripts,
16:56
and links to all the stories we
16:58
discussed today.
16:59
>> And don't forget to follow us on social
17:01
media. We're @ astroailyaily pod on X,
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Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube,
17:07
and Tumblr. Until next time, keep
17:10
looking up and keep exploring the
17:12
wonders of our universe.
17:14
>> Clear skies everyone.
17:16
>> Day
17:19
stories told.