Europe's Satellite Ambitions, Russia's Asteroid Show, and Artificial Eclipses: S03E223

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm thrilled to be bringing you

0:03 Speaker 1: today's fascinating roundup of space and astronomy news. We've got

0:07 Speaker 1: an absolutely packed show ahead, with stories that span from

0:11 Speaker 1: ambitious new European space ventures to spectacular celestial events and

0:15 Speaker 1: groundbreaking scientific discoveries. Today we'll explore how Europe's aerospace giants

0:21 Speaker 1: are teaming up to challenge Starlink, witness a remarkable asteroid

0:25 Speaker 1: spectacle that lit up Russian skies, and learn about an

0:28 Speaker 1: innovative mission to create artificial eclipses in space. We'll also

0:33 Speaker 1: delve into new research about the origins of Earth's oceans,

0:36 Speaker 1: discover how AI could help future Mars astronauts, and marvel

0:41 Speaker 1: at hubbles decades long study of a beautiful distant galaxy.

0:45 Speaker 1: These stories showcase just how dynamic and exciting the field

0:48 Speaker 1: of space exploration continues to be. So let's dive right in.

0:52 Speaker 1: In what could be a major shakeup for the satellite

0:55 Speaker 1: communications industry, Europe's leading aerospace companies are joining forces to

0:59 Speaker 1: take on Elon Musk's Starlink under the code name Project Bromo,

1:04 Speaker 1: named after an Indonesian volcano. Aerospace giants Airbus Thali's and

1:09 Speaker 1: Leonardo are exploring plans to establish a new standalone European

1:13 Speaker 1: satellite venture. This ambitious initiative aims to create a European

1:17 Speaker 1: satellite Champion, modeled after the successful missile maker MBDA, which

1:21 Speaker 1: is jointly owned by several European defense companies. The proposed

1:25 Speaker 1: structure would combine the satellite assets of these major players,

1:28 Speaker 1: rather than having one partner acquire assets from the others.

1:32 Speaker 1: The timing of this venture is particularly significant as Europe's

1:35 Speaker 1: traditional satellite makers have been struggling to adapt to the

1:39 Speaker 1: rapid changes in the industry. While they've historically focused on

1:43 Speaker 1: complex spacecraft in geostationary orbit, the market has been disrupted

1:48 Speaker 1: by the arrival of cheaper, smaller satellites in low Earth orbit,

1:52 Speaker 1: a domain where Starlink has established a commanding presence. The

1:57 Speaker 1: project comes amid broader restructuring efforts in Europe's space sector.

2:01 Speaker 1: Airbus has already announced plans to cut up to twenty

2:03 Speaker 1: five hundred jobs in its defense and space division, while

2:06 Speaker 1: Thales is in discussions about reducing one thousand, three hundred

2:09 Speaker 1: space related positions. However, industry sources emphasize that project BROMO

2:15 Speaker 1: is separate from these immediate cost cutting measures and represents

2:18 Speaker 1: a long term strategic initiative. While still in its early stages,

2:23 Speaker 1: these talks represent the most serious attempt yet to consolidate

2:26 Speaker 1: Europe's satellite industry after decades of fragmentation. If successful, this

2:32 Speaker 1: new venture could finally give Europe the scale and capabilities

2:35 Speaker 1: needed to compete effectively in the rapidly evolving global satellite market.

2:41 Speaker 1: A spectacular celestial show lit up the skies over Russia's

2:45 Speaker 1: remote Yakutia region early Wednesday morning, as an asteroid made

2:49 Speaker 1: its dramatic entrance into Earth's atmosphere. What makes this event

2:53 Speaker 1: particularly remarkable is that astronomers spotted and tracked this cosmic

2:58 Speaker 1: visitor a full twelve hours before its a testament to

3:01 Speaker 1: how far our asteroid detection capabilities have come. The European

3:06 Speaker 1: Space Agency confirmed that the asteroid measured about seventy centimeters across,

3:11 Speaker 1: roughly the size of a small car tire. While that

3:14 Speaker 1: might not sound particularly large, it was enough to create

3:17 Speaker 1: an impressive fireball that caught the attention of residents in

3:20 Speaker 1: the Olikminsk and Lensk districts, who reported seeing what looked

3:24 Speaker 1: like a comet's tail, streaking across the night sky, followed

3:28 Speaker 1: by a brilliant flash. What's particularly impressive about this event

3:32 Speaker 1: is the precision with which scientists predicted its arrival. Thanks

3:37 Speaker 1: to observations from astronomers worldwide, the alert system was able

3:41 Speaker 1: to predict the impact time within just ten seconds of accuracy.

3:45 Speaker 1: The asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere at precisely one fifteen am

3:49 Speaker 1: Local time, exactly when scientists had calculated it would. This

3:53 Speaker 1: kind of accurate prediction and tracking represents a significant achievement

3:57 Speaker 1: in our planetary defense capabilities. While this particular asteroid was

4:02 Speaker 1: too small to pose any threat, burning up harmlessly in

4:04 Speaker 1: the atmosphere as expected, the incident demonstrates how effectively we

4:08 Speaker 1: can now monitor and track incoming space objects. The Emergencies

4:12 Speaker 1: Ministry in Yakutia confirmed that no damage was reported, though

4:16 Speaker 1: they had placed all official bodies on alert as a

4:18 Speaker 1: precautionary measure. This event serves as a perfect real world

4:22 Speaker 1: test of our early warning systems and international cooperation in

4:26 Speaker 1: tracking near Earth objects. The ability to spot even relatively

4:29 Speaker 1: small asteroids hours before impact, track their trajectory with precision,

4:34 Speaker 1: and accurately predict their arrival time shows just how far

4:37 Speaker 1: we've come in protecting our planet from potential cosmic threats.

4:42 Speaker 1: Next up, the European Space Agency is embarking on an

4:45 Speaker 1: extraordinary new mission that will create artificial solar eclipses in space.

4:50 Speaker 1: The Proba three mission, set to launch from India's Satish

4:53 Speaker 1: Dawan Space Center, represents a groundbreaking achievement in precision spacecraft

4:57 Speaker 1: control and solar observation. At the heart of this two

5:01 Speaker 1: hundred ten million dollar mission are two satellites that will

5:04 Speaker 1: perform an intricate orbital dance. These spacecraft will maintain an

5:08 Speaker 1: incredibly precise formation, positioning themselves just one hundred and fifty

5:13 Speaker 1: meters apart, with accuracy down to a few millimeters. Think

5:17 Speaker 1: about that level of precision. It's like perfectly parallel parking

5:20 Speaker 1: two cars in New York and Los Angeles without being

5:23 Speaker 1: off by more than the thickness of a credit card.

5:26 Speaker 1: What makes this mission truly revolutionary is how these satellites

5:29 Speaker 1: will work together. One spacecraft, known as the Occult, will

5:33 Speaker 1: position itself to block out the Sun's bright disc, while

5:36 Speaker 1: the second satellite, the Coronagraph, will study the Sun's mysterious

5:40 Speaker 1: outer atmosphere. Or corona. This setup will effectively create an

5:44 Speaker 1: artificial solar eclipse that can last for six hours during

5:48 Speaker 1: each orbit, something that's impossible to achieve from Earth, where

5:52 Speaker 1: natural eclipses only last a few minutes. The mission will

5:55 Speaker 1: help solve some of our biggest solar mysteries, including why

5:58 Speaker 1: the corona is mysteriously high, hundreds of times hotter than

6:01 Speaker 1: the Sun's surface, and how the solar wind achieved such

6:04 Speaker 1: incredible speeds. But perhaps even more importantly, this mission will

6:08 Speaker 1: prove out formation flying technologies that could revolutionize future space missions.

6:13 Speaker 1: This demonstration opens up exciting possibilities for future space missions.

6:17 Speaker 1: Imagine large scale orbital observatories or satellite servicing missions built

6:22 Speaker 1: from multiple spacecraft working in perfect harmony. The PROBA three

6:26 Speaker 1: mission isn't just about studying the Sun. It's about pushing

6:30 Speaker 1: the boundaries of what's possible in space exploration and paving

6:33 Speaker 1: the way for the next generation of space technology. A

6:37 Speaker 1: fascinating new study has reopened the age old question about

6:41 Speaker 1: where Earth's water came from, and the answer might be

6:44 Speaker 1: written in the stars, or more specifically, in comets. Scientists

6:48 Speaker 1: have discovered that water found on comet sixty seven p

6:52 Speaker 1: shares remarkable similarities with the water in Earth's oceans, challenging

6:57 Speaker 1: our previous understanding of how our planet became the lou

7:00 Speaker 1: marble we know today. While we've long known that Earth

7:03 Speaker 1: wasn't always the water rich world it is now, the

7:06 Speaker 1: exact source of our oceans has remained a mystery. Much

7:10 Speaker 1: of the water present during Earth's formation would have vaporized

7:14 Speaker 1: due to our proximity to the Sun's intense heat. This

7:17 Speaker 1: led scientists to look elsewhere for the source of our

7:19 Speaker 1: life giving oceans. The key to this discovery lies in

7:22 Speaker 1: something called the deuterium to hydrogen ratio, essentially a molecular

7:26 Speaker 1: fingerprint that helps scientists trace water's origin across the Solar System. Deuterium,

7:32 Speaker 1: a heavier version of hydrogen, is more commonly found in

7:35 Speaker 1: objects that formed farther from the Sun, like comets. By

7:39 Speaker 1: comparing these ratios in different celestial bodies, scientists can piece

7:43 Speaker 1: together the cosmic history of water. What makes this new

7:47 Speaker 1: research particularly intriguing is how it addresses previous contradictions in

7:51 Speaker 1: our understanding. Earlier measurements of comet sixty seven p seem

7:56 Speaker 1: to rule out Jupiter family comets as potential water sources

8:00 Speaker 1: for Earth showing deuterium levels three times higher than our oceans. However,

8:05 Speaker 1: this new study reveals that these measurements might have been

8:08 Speaker 1: skewed by the presence of dust in the comet's atmosphere.

8:11 Speaker 1: The research team found that when water ice attaches to

8:14 Speaker 1: dust particles in a comet's coma, the fuzzy atmosphere surrounding

8:18 Speaker 1: its nucleus, it can create misleading readings. When they accounted

8:23 Speaker 1: for this dust effect and measured the water farther from

8:26 Speaker 1: the comet's surface, they found a much closer match to

8:29 Speaker 1: Earth's oceanic water signature. This discovery suggests that comets like

8:34 Speaker 1: sixty seven P could indeed have played a significant role

8:37 Speaker 1: in delivering water to our early planet during the Solar

8:40 Speaker 1: System's tumultuous youth. This revelation not only helps us better

8:44 Speaker 1: understand our own planet's history, but also has important implications

8:48 Speaker 1: for how we study comets and interpret their data in

8:52 Speaker 1: our ongoing quest to understand the origins of our cosmic neighborhood.

8:57 Speaker 1: Now here's a wild idea, but one that makes sense.

9:00 Speaker 1: Space exploration is about to get a major upgrade, with

9:02 Speaker 1: artificial intelligence stepping in as the ultimate cosmic copilot. Researchers

9:08 Speaker 1: at the German Aerospace Center are developing sophisticated AI assistant

9:11 Speaker 1: specifically designed to support astronauts on long duration missions, particularly

9:16 Speaker 1: to Mars, where communication delays with Earth can stretch up

9:18 Speaker 1: to twenty four minutes each way. These AI systems, built

9:22 Speaker 1: upon the Mars Exploration Telemetry Driven Information System or METIS,

9:27 Speaker 1: are being enhanced to help astronauts make critical decisions without

9:31 Speaker 1: waiting for instructions from mission control. Think of it as

9:35 Speaker 1: having a knowledgeable companion who can instantly access and interpret

9:39 Speaker 1: vast amounts of mission data, procedures, and sensor readings in

9:42 Speaker 1: real time. What makes this system particularly innovative is its

9:46 Speaker 1: combination of different technologies. It uses knowledge graphs to organize

9:50 Speaker 1: and connect complex mission information, augmented reality to display crucial

9:55 Speaker 1: data right in front of astronaut's eyes, and natural language

9:58 Speaker 1: processing to enable simple voice interacts. The system can even

10:02 Speaker 1: verify its own responses against stored mission data, ensuring reliability

10:05 Speaker 1: and critical situations. This isn't just about convenience, It's about survival.

10:11 Speaker 1: When you're millions of miles from Earth waiting forty eight

10:13 Speaker 1: minutes for a round trip communication about an emergency situation

10:16 Speaker 1: simply isn't an option. The AI assistant can help astronauts

10:20 Speaker 1: troubleshoot problems, manage complex procedures, and make informed decisions independently.

10:26 Speaker 1: Current testing of these systems is already underway, with researchers

10:30 Speaker 1: collaborating with the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative. Plans

10:35 Speaker 1: are in place to work with astronauts at the European

10:37 Speaker 1: Astronauts Center next year, moving us closer to a future

10:41 Speaker 1: where AI becomes an indispensable crew member on humanity's journey

10:45 Speaker 1: to the stars. The development builds upon existing AI systems

10:49 Speaker 1: already proving their worth on the International Space Station, where

10:53 Speaker 1: robotic assistants named Honey, Queen and Bumble help astronauts with

10:58 Speaker 1: daily tasks. These early applications are paving the way for

11:02 Speaker 1: more sophisticated AI support systems that will be crucial for

11:06 Speaker 1: the challenges of deep space exploration. Let me share with

11:10 Speaker 1: you one of the most remarkable examples of scientific patients

11:14 Speaker 1: and dedication in astronomy. The Hubble Space Telescope has been

11:18 Speaker 1: observing a fascinating galaxy called UGC one zero zero four

11:22 Speaker 1: to three, capturing its evolution through images taken an incredible

11:26 Speaker 1: twenty three years apart. Located one hundred and fifty million

11:30 Speaker 1: light years from Earth, this spiral galaxy appears to us

11:33 Speaker 1: as a striking thin line across the cosmos when viewed

11:36 Speaker 1: from our perspective. What makes these observations particularly special is

11:41 Speaker 1: how they combine data from both the year twenty twenty

11:43 Speaker 1: twenty three, giving us an unprecedented look at the galaxy

11:47 Speaker 1: structure and development over time. When you look at the

11:50 Speaker 1: combined image, you'll notice a distinctive, glowing bulge at the

11:53 Speaker 1: galaxy's heart, an egg shaped structure that extends above and

11:57 Speaker 1: below its flat disk. This bulge is unusually large for

12:00 Speaker 1: a spiral galaxy, and astronomers believe it might be the

12:03 Speaker 1: result of gravitational interactions with nearby dwarf galaxies. It's like

12:08 Speaker 1: watching a cosmic tug of war playing out across millions

12:10 Speaker 1: of light years, where these gravitational forces have actually warped

12:14 Speaker 1: the galaxy's disc, bending it at both ends. The galaxy's

12:19 Speaker 1: arms shine with a bluish light, indicating areas where new

12:22 Speaker 1: stars are actively forming. However, much of this stellar nursery

12:27 Speaker 1: is partially hidden behind thick clouds of cosmic dust. Adding

12:31 Speaker 1: to the mystery and complexity of this distant system. These

12:35 Speaker 1: long term observations by Hubble demonstrate why the telescope has

12:39 Speaker 1: been such a revolutionary tool for astronomy. By revisiting the

12:43 Speaker 1: same cosmic objects over decades, we can track their evolution

12:48 Speaker 1: and piece together the intricate processes that shape our universe.

12:51 Speaker 1: It's like having a time lapse camera pointed at the cosmos,

12:54 Speaker 1: helping us understand how galaxies live and change over astronomical

12:58 Speaker 1: time scales. And that wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

13:04 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining me. I'm anna and it's

13:07 Speaker 1: been a pleasure sharing these fascinating stories from space with you.

13:11 Speaker 1: If you're hungry for more space news, head over to

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13:40 Speaker 2: Sunday Star Star

14:00 Speaker 1: So