Crew 10's Stellar Launch, Earth's Electric Mysteries, and a Blazar's Cosmic Conundrum: S04E64

0:00 Speaker 1: Today on Astronomy Daily, we have an action packed episode

0:03 Speaker 1: filled with big developments from across the cosmos. We'll start

0:07 Speaker 1: with the successful launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew ten mission,

0:11 Speaker 1: which is now carrying four new crew members to the

0:13 Speaker 1: International Space Station. We'll also explore NASA's groundbreaking Easy mission

0:19 Speaker 1: that's set to study the mysterious electrical currents flowing around

0:22 Speaker 1: Earth's poles. Then we'll venture into deep space to examine

0:26 Speaker 1: a cosmic mystery that's baffling astronomers, a shape shifting blazaar

0:31 Speaker 1: that's breaking all the rules we thought we knew about

0:33 Speaker 1: these powerful objects. From there, we'll check in on China's

0:36 Speaker 1: Tiangong Space Station and their busy schedule of experiments in

0:40 Speaker 1: future missions. And finally, we'll look at how Earth's newest

0:44 Speaker 1: astronomical eye, the Vera Reuben Observatory, might help guide NASA's

0:49 Speaker 1: new Horizon spacecraft to new discoveries in the distant Kuiper Belt.

0:53 Speaker 1: So let's get started with the news we've all been

0:55 Speaker 1: waiting to hear. In a spectacular nighttime launch from NASA's

0:59 Speaker 1: Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX's Falcon nine rockets successfully

1:03 Speaker 1: lifted off at seven oh three pm EDT on Friday,

1:07 Speaker 1: carrying the Crew ten mission toward the International Space Station.

1:11 Speaker 1: The Dragon spacecraft carried an international quartet of space travelers,

1:14 Speaker 1: NASA astronauts Anne McLain and Nicole Ayr's Jaksa astronaut to

1:18 Speaker 1: Kuya Onishi, and Rascosmos cosmonaut Kirol Peskov. For commander Anne maclain,

1:24 Speaker 1: this marks her second journey to the orbital outpost, while

1:27 Speaker 1: mission pilot Nicole Ayers is embarking on her first space

1:30 Speaker 1: flight to kuy Onishi is making his second trip to

1:33 Speaker 1: the station, and Kirol Peskov is experiencing his first venture

1:37 Speaker 1: into space. The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock autonomously

1:42 Speaker 1: with the station's Harmony Module, where the new arrivals will

1:45 Speaker 1: temporarily bring the station's crew complement to eleven. This highlights

1:49 Speaker 1: the increasingly busy nature of our orbital outpost and the

1:53 Speaker 1: growing international cooperation in space exploration. During their stay aboard

1:58 Speaker 1: the station, the Crew ten tis will conduct numerous scientific investigations,

2:02 Speaker 1: including material flammability tests that will help inform future spacecraft design.

2:07 Speaker 1: They'll also engage with students worldwide through the iss HAM

2:11 Speaker 1: Radio program and participate in physiological studies that will provide

2:15 Speaker 1: crucial data for future deep space missions. This mission represents

2:19 Speaker 1: the tenth crew rotation under NASA's Commercial Crew program, demonstrating

2:23 Speaker 1: the success of the agency's partnership with private industry. As

2:27 Speaker 1: Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro noted, these missions are laying

2:31 Speaker 1: the groundwork for future exploration from low Earth orbit to

2:34 Speaker 1: the Moon and eventually Mars. The successful launch of Crew

2:38 Speaker 1: ten continues the remarkable achievement of maintaining a continuous human

2:42 Speaker 1: presence in space, with the International Space Station now having

2:46 Speaker 1: been continuously occupied for more than twenty four years. This

2:50 Speaker 1: mission not only advances our scientific understanding, but also strengthens

2:54 Speaker 1: the international bonds that make space exploration possible. It also

2:58 Speaker 1: means that Butch and Sunni can finly come home, and

3:01 Speaker 1: we should see them back on Earth shortly. NASA's newest

3:05 Speaker 1: mission to study Earth's auroras is preparing for launch, with

3:09 Speaker 1: three small but mighty spacecraft ready to unlock the mysteries

3:12 Speaker 1: of the spectacular light shows we know as the Northern

3:15 Speaker 1: and Southern Lights. The Electrojet Zeman Imaging Explorer, or EASY

3:20 Speaker 1: for short, represents the first dedicated mission to study auroral

3:24 Speaker 1: electrojets powerful electrical currents flowing high in our planet's atmosphere

3:28 Speaker 1: near the poles. These remarkable currents can push up to

3:32 Speaker 1: a million amps of electricity through the upper atmosphere, about

3:36 Speaker 1: sixty five miles above Earth's surface. To put that in perspective,

3:40 Speaker 1: that's enough electrical current to power hundreds of thousands of homes.

3:43 Speaker 1: The mission will use three cube SATs, each about the

3:46 Speaker 1: size of a carry on suitcase, working together like pearls

3:50 Speaker 1: on a string as they orbit from pole to pole

3:52 Speaker 1: between two hundred and sixty to three hundred seventy miles up.

3:56 Speaker 1: What makes easy particularly clever is how these satellites will

3:59 Speaker 1: work together. Instead of carrying propulsion systems, they'll use atmospheric

4:04 Speaker 1: drag to maintain their formation, carefully rotating to adjust their

4:08 Speaker 1: spacing so each spacecraft passes over the same region just

4:12 Speaker 1: minutes after the previous one. This will give scientists an

4:15 Speaker 1: unprecedented look at how these electrical currents evolve over time.

4:19 Speaker 1: The satellites will detect these currents by observing microwave emissions

4:22 Speaker 1: from oxygen molecules about ten miles below the electrojets. The

4:26 Speaker 1: currents create a magnetic fingerprint in these emissions, which Easy's

4:30 Speaker 1: instruments are specifically designed to measure. Each satellite will create

4:34 Speaker 1: detailed maps of the electrojets during every orbit, and combining

4:38 Speaker 1: data from all three will reveal how these current systems

4:41 Speaker 1: change and develop. Beyond advancing our understanding of Earth's electrical environment,

4:47 Speaker 1: Easy will help improve our ability to predict space weather

4:50 Speaker 1: events that can affect satellites and power grids. The mission

4:54 Speaker 1: is also engaging students and citizen scientists through the easy

4:58 Speaker 1: mag program, distributing magnet actometer kits across the United States

5:01 Speaker 1: to allow people to make their own measurements of these

5:04 Speaker 1: vast electrical current systems. The mission is scheduled to operate

5:08 Speaker 1: for eighteen months, during which time it will not only

5:11 Speaker 1: help us better understand our own planet's magnetic environment, but

5:14 Speaker 1: also provide insights that could apply to any magnetized planet

5:17 Speaker 1: in our Solar System and beyond. This relatively small mission

5:21 Speaker 1: could have big implications for our understanding of how planets

5:24 Speaker 1: interact with space. Next up, just when astronomers thought they

5:29 Speaker 1: had blazars all figured out, one peculiar cosmic object is

5:33 Speaker 1: completely rewriting the rule book bl Lacertae located about nine

5:37 Speaker 1: hundred million light years away in the constellation Lecerta, has

5:41 Speaker 1: been leaving scientists scratching their heads with its unprecedented behavior.

5:45 Speaker 1: Initially mistaken for just another variable star in our galaxy

5:49 Speaker 1: when it was discovered in nineteen twenty nine, BL Lacertae

5:52 Speaker 1: turned out to be something far more exotic, a powerful

5:55 Speaker 1: active galaxy shooting intense jets of matter toward Earth. These

5:59 Speaker 1: are objects known as blazars, typically fall into neat categories

6:03 Speaker 1: based on their electromagnetic emissions, but BL Lacertae seems determined

6:08 Speaker 1: to break every classification we throw at it. Recent observations

6:12 Speaker 1: between twenty twenty and twenty twenty three have shown this

6:15 Speaker 1: cosmic rebel rapidly switching between different blazar types, something that

6:20 Speaker 1: should be impossible according to our current understanding. One moment,

6:24 Speaker 1: it appears as what astronomers call an HBL, then suddenly

6:27 Speaker 1: transforms into an LBL, before settling briefly as an IBL,

6:31 Speaker 1: only to change again. It's like watching a cosmic chameleon

6:34 Speaker 1: that can't make up its mind. The X ray emissions

6:38 Speaker 1: from BL lassert have also reached record breaking levels during

6:41 Speaker 1: this period. While scientists believe they understand how blazars produce

6:45 Speaker 1: their characteristic double peaked emission patterns, with electrons and their

6:49 Speaker 1: synchrotron radiation responsible for the lower energy peak, the mechanism

6:54 Speaker 1: behind the rapid switching between types remains a complete mystery.

6:58 Speaker 1: This bizarre behavior has sparked intense debate in the astronomical community.

7:03 Speaker 1: Could b L Lacertae represent an entirely new class of

7:05 Speaker 1: blazar or is there some unknown physical process at work

7:09 Speaker 1: that allows it to change its emission patterns at unprecedented speeds.

7:13 Speaker 1: These questions are keeping theoretical astrophysicists up at night as

7:17 Speaker 1: they struggle to explain what they're seeing. The discovery challenges

7:20 Speaker 1: our fundamental understanding of how these powerful cosmic engines operate

7:25 Speaker 1: and reminds us that the universe still has plenty of

7:28 Speaker 1: surprises in store. As one of the earliest discovered blazars

7:32 Speaker 1: continues to defy explanation, it's clear that we still have

7:35 Speaker 1: much to learn about these fascinating cosmic objects. Let's get

7:40 Speaker 1: an update now from another spacefaring nation. China's space program

7:44 Speaker 1: continues to make impressive strides with their Chiangong space station,

7:48 Speaker 1: which has been continuously occupied since its completion in late

7:51 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two. The current crew aboard the station Shunho nineteen,

7:55 Speaker 1: is over one hundred and thirty days into their six

7:58 Speaker 1: month mission and has been conducted groundbreaking research in orbit.

8:02 Speaker 1: The three person crew, led by Commander Chai Shuje, alongside

8:06 Speaker 1: crew members Songling Dong and Wang Housi, has been particularly

8:10 Speaker 1: busy with cutting edge experiments. They've been working extensively with

8:14 Speaker 1: electro andcephalogram equipment to study how microgravity affects visual processing

8:19 Speaker 1: and exploring how brain wave music might help astronauts maintain

8:23 Speaker 1: better cognitive control during extended space missions. Wang Houzi, who

8:28 Speaker 1: made history as China's first female flight engineer in space,

8:31 Speaker 1: has been demonstrating the crucial exercise protocols using resistance bands

8:36 Speaker 1: that help combat the muscle and bone loss that naturally

8:39 Speaker 1: occurs in zero gravity. The crew has also been pushing

8:42 Speaker 1: the boundaries of human machine interaction, working with an AI

8:46 Speaker 1: robot called Xiaohang to develop more intuitive ways for astronauts

8:50 Speaker 1: to communicate with automated systems. Looking ahead, China has ambitious

8:55 Speaker 1: plans for Changong in twenty twenty five. The Space Agency

8:59 Speaker 1: CMS has announced two crude missions Shunzo twenty and twenty one,

9:04 Speaker 1: along with a Tianjo cargo spacecraft to keep the station

9:07 Speaker 1: well supplied. In an exciting development for international cooperation, China

9:11 Speaker 1: will also be training Pakistani astronauts for an upcoming short

9:14 Speaker 1: term mission to Changong. This steady progress demonstrates China's growing

9:19 Speaker 1: capabilities in space exploration and their commitment to maintaining a

9:23 Speaker 1: permanent human presence in orbit. As the Shenzo nineteen crew

9:28 Speaker 1: continues their scientific work, they're not just advancing our understanding

9:32 Speaker 1: of space. They're helping pave the way for an increasingly

9:35 Speaker 1: diverse and collaborative future in space exploration. The outer reaches

9:40 Speaker 1: of our Solar System might soon become a lot less

9:42 Speaker 1: mysterious thanks to an exciting collaboration between one of our

9:46 Speaker 1: most distant spacecraft and a powerful new telescope. The Vera

9:50 Speaker 1: Reuben Observatory, set to begin operations later this year, could

9:54 Speaker 1: help chart a new course for NASA's New Horizon spacecraft

9:57 Speaker 1: as it ventures through the Kuiper Belt. The New Horizons,

10:01 Speaker 1: which gave us those stunning images of Pluto in twenty fifteen,

10:04 Speaker 1: is now about sixty one astronomical units from Earth that's

10:08 Speaker 1: sixty one times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

10:12 Speaker 1: While it's still functioning perfectly, it needs new targets to study,

10:16 Speaker 1: and that's where the Vera Ruben Observatory comes in. A

10:19 Speaker 1: team of scientists led by JJ Kavilars has proposed an

10:22 Speaker 1: innovative survey using the observatory's powerful capabilities. Their plan involves

10:27 Speaker 1: dedicating about thirty hours of telescope time across six different

10:31 Speaker 1: nights to conduct what they're calling a deep drilling microsurvey

10:36 Speaker 1: of the spacecraft's trajectory through the Kuiper Belt. This survey

10:40 Speaker 1: could potentially identify around seven hundred Kuiper Belt objects, and

10:44 Speaker 1: while finding one close enough for a direct flyby might

10:47 Speaker 1: be a long shot, the spacecraft could still make valuable

10:50 Speaker 1: observations of these distant objects. The team expects to discover

10:54 Speaker 1: numerous binary objects and possibly even contact binaries similar to Aricoth,

11:00 Speaker 1: which New Horizons famously visited in twenty nineteen. The Via

11:04 Speaker 1: Reuben Observatory's involvement could confirm recent findings suggesting the Kuiper

11:09 Speaker 1: Belt is more densely populated than our current models predict.

11:13 Speaker 1: If the initial survey proves insufficient for finding suitable fly

11:16 Speaker 1: by targets. The team is already thinking ahead to potentially

11:20 Speaker 1: using the upcoming Roman Observatory to conduct even more detailed searches.

11:25 Speaker 1: This collaboration between Earth based telescopes and our deep space

11:29 Speaker 1: pioneers represents a fascinating new chapter in our exploration of

11:33 Speaker 1: the Solar System's frontier, potentially revealing new secrets about these

11:37 Speaker 1: mysterious outer regions that have remained hidden from view for

11:40 Speaker 1: so long. Well that's it for today, from the successful

11:45 Speaker 1: launch of Crew ten to the International Space Station, to

11:48 Speaker 1: the groundbreaking easy emission studying our auroras and that fascinating

11:52 Speaker 1: shape shifting blazar that's got astronomers scratching their heads. We've

11:56 Speaker 1: also checked in with China's Tangong Space station and explored

11:59 Speaker 1: the citing possibilities for new horizons in the Kuiper Belt.

12:03 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me Anna on another episode of

12:05 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily. If you want to stay up to date

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12:13 Speaker 1: episodes and catch up on the latest space and astronomy news.

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12:29 Speaker 1: wondering about the mysteries of our universe. Start