European Space Dynamics, Astronauts' Resilience, and Mercury's Mysteries: S04E09

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Ana and we've got an

0:03 Speaker 1: absolutely packed show for you today with some fascinating developments

0:06 Speaker 1: from across the space sector. We'll be diving into the

0:09 Speaker 1: latest shakeup in European space cooperation, where Italy is making

0:13 Speaker 1: some interesting moves that could reshape the continent's space industry.

0:17 Speaker 1: I'll also bring you up to speed on our colleagues

0:19 Speaker 1: up on the International Space Station where two NASA astronauts

0:23 Speaker 1: are taking their extended stay and stride. Plus, we'll look

0:26 Speaker 1: at why Blue Origin had to delay the debut launch

0:29 Speaker 1: of their massive new Glen rocket. Then we'll explore some

0:32 Speaker 1: incredible new images from Beppy Columbo's final flyby of Mercury,

0:37 Speaker 1: and wrap up with a mind blowing discovery about Jupiter's

0:40 Speaker 1: clouds that's completely changing what we thought we knew about

0:43 Speaker 1: the gas giant. Stay with me as we journey through

0:46 Speaker 1: these exciting stories in today's episode of Astronomy Daily. In

0:51 Speaker 1: a significant development for European space cooperation, the head of

0:55 Speaker 1: the European Space Agency has addressed growing concerns about potential

0:59 Speaker 1: fragmentation within the European space sector. This comes as Italy

1:04 Speaker 1: charts its own course in rocket operations and explores possible

1:08 Speaker 1: agreements with Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network. Italy's space company, Avio,

1:13 Speaker 1: is set to take control of Viga C rocket operations

1:16 Speaker 1: on behalf of ESA, effectively moving the Italian built rocket

1:20 Speaker 1: away from Europe's primary launch operator, are and E Space.

1:24 Speaker 1: At the same time, ROME is evaluating potential supply agreements

1:27 Speaker 1: with Starlink, with Musk expressing enthusiasm about providing Italy with

1:32 Speaker 1: what he calls the most secure and advanced connectivity. ESA

1:37 Speaker 1: Director General Joseph Aschbacher is keeping a watchful eye on

1:40 Speaker 1: these developments, particularly the balance between national and European space activities.

1:45 Speaker 1: While acknowledging that space is becoming increasingly strategic and important

1:50 Speaker 1: with investments on the rise, Ashbacher emphasizes the benefits of

1:54 Speaker 1: participating in European programs rather than purely national ones. This

1:59 Speaker 1: situation becomes even more intriguing when we consider the timing.

2:03 Speaker 1: These discussions about Italy's potential role with Starlink comes shortly

2:06 Speaker 1: after the European Commission announced funding for Iris II, their

2:10 Speaker 1: own satellite constellation designed to provide secure communications for European

2:15 Speaker 1: governments and agencies. Looking ahead to twenty twenty five, ESA

2:19 Speaker 1: has outlined ambitious launch plans despite recent setbacks. Their flagship

2:24 Speaker 1: Ariane six rocket is now scheduled for its next launch

2:27 Speaker 1: in February, with four more launches planned throughout the year. Meanwhile,

2:31 Speaker 1: the Vega SA rocket, which successfully returned to flight in

2:34 Speaker 1: December after a previous failure, is set to conduct four

2:38 Speaker 1: launches in twenty twenty five. The agency maintains that it

2:42 Speaker 1: will prioritize using European launchers now that they are available again.

2:46 Speaker 1: This marks a shift from recent years, when ESA had

2:48 Speaker 1: to rely on SpaceX's Falcon nine rockets during gaps in

2:51 Speaker 1: European launch capabilities. However, ESA will continue with one planned

2:56 Speaker 1: SpaceX launch, the Sentinel six B mission, which is being

2:59 Speaker 1: funded through now cooperation. Now an update from the ISS.

3:04 Speaker 1: Two NASA astronauts have found themselves in an unexpectedly extended

3:07 Speaker 1: stay aboard the International Space Station, but their spirits remain

3:10 Speaker 1: remarkably high. Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, who originally planned

3:15 Speaker 1: for just an eight day mission when they launched in

3:17 Speaker 1: June twenty twenty four, have turned what could have been

3:20 Speaker 1: a challenging situation into a testament to astronaut adaptability. When

3:25 Speaker 1: asked during a phone conference call earlier this week about

3:28 Speaker 1: feeling like castaways, a reference to the Tom Hanks film Sunny,

3:32 Speaker 1: Williams was quick to dismiss any such notion. While acknowledging

3:36 Speaker 1: their desire to eventually return home to their families, she

3:40 Speaker 1: emphasized their focus on the important work that still needs

3:43 Speaker 1: to be done aboard the station. This professional dedication showcases

3:47 Speaker 1: the true spirit of space exploration. Their extended mission hasn't

3:51 Speaker 1: been without its share of memorable moments. The astronauts have

3:55 Speaker 1: experienced several major events from their orbital perspective, including the

3:59 Speaker 1: US election, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. They've maintained their connection to

4:03 Speaker 1: life on Earth, with Wilmore even managing to participate in

4:07 Speaker 1: important moments of his daughter's final year of high school,

4:10 Speaker 1: albeit from two hundred and fifty miles above. The station

4:14 Speaker 1: has remained well supplied, with recent cargo deliveries bringing essential

4:18 Speaker 1: supplies including food, water, oxygen, and even special items to

4:22 Speaker 1: help the crew celebrate the holidays. Far from being idle,

4:26 Speaker 1: both astronauts have fully integrated into the station's regular crew duties,

4:30 Speaker 1: taking on everything from routine maintenance to complex repair work.

4:35 Speaker 1: Looking ahead, Sunny Williams is preparing for her eighth spacewalk,

4:38 Speaker 1: an impressive milestone in her NASA career. During this upcoming EVA,

4:43 Speaker 1: she'll be working with another crew member to replace critical

4:46 Speaker 1: orientation equipment on the station's exterior, as well as conducting

4:50 Speaker 1: repairs on various instruments, including a telescope. This continued commitment

4:55 Speaker 1: to station maintenance and scientific work demonstrates how these astronauts

4:59 Speaker 1: have transformed an unexpected situation into an opportunity for extended

5:03 Speaker 1: contribution to space exploration. Now an update to a story

5:08 Speaker 1: we've been following this week in space launch news, Blue

5:11 Speaker 1: Origin has had to push back the debut launch of

5:13 Speaker 1: their impressive new Glen rocket. The postponement comes due to

5:18 Speaker 1: challenging weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean, specifically rough seas

5:22 Speaker 1: that could impact the rocket's planned booster landing. The launch,

5:26 Speaker 1: originally set for early Friday morning, has been rescheduled for

5:29 Speaker 1: Sunday at one a m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral

5:32 Speaker 1: Space Force Station in Florida. This massive vehicle stands an

5:36 Speaker 1: impressive three hundred and twenty feet tall and represents Blue

5:39 Speaker 1: Origins first venture into orbital class rockets. What makes New

5:43 Speaker 1: Glen particularly interesting is its reusable first stage, designed to

5:47 Speaker 1: return to Earth and land on a specialized vessel in

5:50 Speaker 1: the Atlantic. The landing ship, named Jacqueline, after Jeff Bezos's mother,

5:55 Speaker 1: will serve as the touchdown point for these returning boosters.

5:59 Speaker 1: While Blue Origin and acknowledges the ambitious nature of attempting

6:02 Speaker 1: a booster landing on their very first flight, they're committed

6:05 Speaker 1: to giving it their best shot. This approach to reusability

6:08 Speaker 1: isn't just about technical achievement, it's central to their business model.

6:13 Speaker 1: Each New Glen first stage is engineered to fly at

6:15 Speaker 1: least twenty five times, which could significantly reduce launch costs

6:19 Speaker 1: for future missions. The rocket already has an impressive lineup

6:23 Speaker 1: of contracted missions waiting in the wings, including plans to

6:27 Speaker 1: launch missions to Mars for NASA and a series of

6:30 Speaker 1: Amazon's Kuyper Internet satellites. This makes the successful debut of

6:35 Speaker 1: New Glen crucial not just for Blue Origin, but for

6:38 Speaker 1: their commercial and government partners as well. Should Sunday's launch

6:42 Speaker 1: attempt face additional delays, Blue Origin has secured a launch

6:46 Speaker 1: window extending through January sixteenth. This flexibility ensures they can

6:50 Speaker 1: wait for optimal conditions to give their new rocket the

6:53 Speaker 1: best possible chance of success in both its primary mission

6:56 Speaker 1: and the ambitious booster recovery attempt. Moving on now to

7:01 Speaker 1: a space mission that's really kicking goals, The BEPI Columbo

7:04 Speaker 1: spacecraft has just completed a remarkable milestone, making its sixth

7:09 Speaker 1: and final flyby of Mercury before its main mission begins

7:12 Speaker 1: next year. During this close encounter, the spacecraft came within

7:16 Speaker 1: just one hundred and eighty five miles of Mercury's surface,

7:19 Speaker 1: giving us some incredible new views of the Solar System's

7:22 Speaker 1: smallest planet. The images captured during this flyby are particularly fascinating,

7:28 Speaker 1: offering us detailed glimpses of Mercury's mysterious surface features. One

7:33 Speaker 1: of the most intriguing discoveries involves the planet's permanently shadowed craters.

7:38 Speaker 1: Despite Mercury's proximity to the Sun, these deep craters rank

7:41 Speaker 1: among the coldest places in our entire Solar System, and

7:45 Speaker 1: scientists believe they might harbor water ice. The spacecraft's monitoring

7:49 Speaker 1: cameras revealed striking contrasts between Mercury's dark surface and bright

7:53 Speaker 1: features that indicate recent geological activity. The Nathae facula, for instance,

7:59 Speaker 1: stands out as the remnant of the largest known volcanic

8:02 Speaker 1: explosion on Mercury, with a central vent spanning twenty five

8:05 Speaker 1: miles in volcanic deposits extending nearly two hundred miles in diameter.

8:10 Speaker 1: The images also showcased Mercury's vast volcanic plains, known as

8:14 Speaker 1: the Borealis Planetia, formed by massive lava flows roughly three

8:18 Speaker 1: point seven billion years ago. These ancient flows created smooth

8:21 Speaker 1: regions across much of Mercury's surface, later marked by wrinkles

8:24 Speaker 1: as the planet's interior cooled and contracted. Within these planes,

8:29 Speaker 1: we can see numerous impact craters, including the massive Colorus Basin,

8:33 Speaker 1: which stretches over nine hundred and thirty miles wide. One

8:37 Speaker 1: particularly unexpected feature caught in the new images is a

8:40 Speaker 1: distinctive boomerang shaped lava flow near the Coloris basin. This formation,

8:45 Speaker 1: connected to a deep trough, presents an intriguing puzzle that

8:48 Speaker 1: scientists hope to solve when BEPI Colombo begins its primary mission.

8:53 Speaker 1: The spacecraft is scheduled to enter Mercury's orbit on November

8:56 Speaker 1: twenty first, twenty twenty six, when it will begin its

8:59 Speaker 1: des tailed investigation of these and other mysteries about our

9:03 Speaker 1: Solar System's innermost planet. Now onto the amazing discovery of

9:08 Speaker 1: the day. Our understanding of Jupiter's clouds has just been

9:12 Speaker 1: completely transformed thanks to a groundbreaking collaboration between amateur and

9:16 Speaker 1: professional astronomers. For decades, scientists believed Jupiter's visible clouds were

9:22 Speaker 1: primarily composed of ammonia ice. However, new research published in

9:26 Speaker 1: the Journal of Geophysical Research has revealed something entirely different.

9:30 Speaker 1: These clouds are actually made of ammonium hydrosulfide mixed with smog.

9:34 Speaker 1: This fascinating discovery began with amateur astronomer doctor Stephen Hill

9:38 Speaker 1: from Colorado, who demonstrated that using commercially available telescopes with

9:42 Speaker 1: specialized filters could effectively measure ammonia levels and pressure at

9:47 Speaker 1: Jupiter's cloud tops. His observations revealed something unexpected. These clouds

9:52 Speaker 1: were simply too deep in Jupiter's warm atmosphere to be

9:55 Speaker 1: made of ammonia ice as previously thought. Professor Patrick Irwin

10:00 Speaker 1: from Oxford University took this research further, applying Hill's methods

10:05 Speaker 1: to observations from the very large telescope in Chile. Using

10:09 Speaker 1: spectroscopic analysis, his team confirmed that Jupiter's main cloud deck

10:13 Speaker 1: exists in a region of higher pressure and temperature than

10:17 Speaker 1: previously believed. The conditions there are simply too warm for

10:20 Speaker 1: ammonia to condense into ice, pointing to ammonium hydrosulfide as

10:24 Speaker 1: the primary component instead. The team suggests that in Jupiter's atmosphere,

10:29 Speaker 1: when ammonia rich air rises, the ammonia is either destroyed

10:33 Speaker 1: or mixed with photochemical products faster than ice can form.

10:37 Speaker 1: This process explains the distinctive red and brown colors we

10:40 Speaker 1: see in Jupiter's clouds. They're actually a mixture of ammonium

10:43 Speaker 1: hydrosulfide and smog like compounds created by sunlight induced chemical reactions. Interestingly,

10:50 Speaker 1: this research method has proven so effective that it's now

10:53 Speaker 1: being applied to Saturn as well, where similar processes appear

10:56 Speaker 1: to be at work. This discovery not only changes our

11:00 Speaker 1: fundamental understanding of Jupiter's atmosphere, but also opens up new

11:03 Speaker 1: opportunities for citizen scientists to contribute to planetary research. Using

11:08 Speaker 1: these relatively simple techniques, amateur astronomers can now track atmospheric

11:12 Speaker 1: changes across Jupiter's bands storms and even its famous great

11:15 Speaker 1: red spot. Well, that wraps up another fascinating day of

11:20 Speaker 1: space exploration and discovery, from the changing landscape of European

11:25 Speaker 1: space cooperation to the resilient spirits of our astronauts on

11:29 Speaker 1: the ISS, from Blue Origin's careful approach to their New

11:33 Speaker 1: Glen launch, to Bepy Columbo's final rendezvous with Mercury, and

11:37 Speaker 1: of course that remarkable revelation about Jupiter's clouds. We've covered

11:42 Speaker 1: quite a bit of ground today. I'm Anna, and I

11:45 Speaker 1: want to thank you for joining me on this journey

11:47 Speaker 1: through the Cosmos. If you're hungry for more space news,

11:51 Speaker 1: head over to Astronomy Daily dot io, where you can

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12:17 Speaker 1: and wondering about the mysteries that await us in the

12:19 Speaker 1: vast expanse of space. Star Star Star