Medical Drama on the ISS-Update | ESA's Rocket Revamp | Mysterious Early Galaxies: Your Daily Space News

0:00 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your

0:03 daily companion for all things space and

0:05 astronomy. I'm Anna and joining me, as

0:08 always, is my good friend and co host, Avery.

0:11 Hey Avery. It's January 10, 2026.

0:14 Hope everyone's weekend is stellar.

0:17 Avery: Hey Anna. And hello to our listeners

0:19 everywhere. Yeah, it's been a busy start to

0:21 the year and today we've got some fantastic,

0:23 um, updates and discoveries. We're kicking

0:26 off with the big follow up to yesterday's

0:28 breaking news on the ISS medical situation.

0:31 Plus ROC upgrades in Europe, some weird

0:33 early universe galaxies from jwst,

0:36 insights into our galaxy's black hole past,

0:39 and China's upcoming space telescope that's

0:42 poised to reveal cosmic secrets. Let's dive

0:45 right in.

0:46 Anna: First up, the update we've all been waiting

0:48 for. NASA and SpaceX have set a target date

0:51 for Crew 11's return to Earth following the

0:53 medical concern with one crew member.

0:56 Avery: This is a historic early return. We talked

0:58 about yesterday. The first medical evacuation

1:01 of an entire crew from the ISS, its

1:04 25 year history. Crew 11, who

1:06 launched last August on Dragon Endeavor,

1:09 includes NASA astronauts Michael Fink and

1:11 Zena Cardman, Jax's Kimiya Yu,

1:14 and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platanov.

1:17 Anna: The plan now is undocking no earlier than

1:20 5pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, January

1:23 14, weather permitting, and splashdown

1:26 around 3:40am on Thursday,

1:29 January 15, off the coast of California.

1:32 Recovery teams are prepped and managers are

1:34 monitoring seas, states, spacecraft

1:37 readiness, everything to make sure it's safe.

1:40 Avery: NASA stresses the crew member is stable and

1:42 has been receiving care on board. But the

1:44 decision was made to return early as a

1:46 precaution since full diagnosis and treatment

1:49 aren't feasible in microgravity. Details

1:52 remain private for medical privacy reasons.

1:54 No specifics on the condition.

1:56 Anna: Importantly, this shouldn't impact the

1:58 upcoming Artemis 2 mission. NASA

2:01 Administrator Jared Eisendman said the

2:03 evacuation is, quote, a totally separate

2:06 campaign at this point and they're still

2:08 aiming for the first launch window in early

2:10 February. No delays expected. That's

2:13 reassuring for the whole program.

2:15 Avery: With Crew 11 heading home, the ISS

2:18 will temporarily drop to three crew members,

2:21 NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two

2:24 Russian cosmonauts. They'll keep things

2:26 running, but NASA is looking at

2:28 accelerating Crew 12's launch from mid

2:31 February to minimize any gap. This

2:34 shows how flexible the partnership is,

2:37 even in tough moments.

2:39 Anna: Sending all the best wishes for a safe return

2:41 to Crew 11. What a reminder of the human

2:44 element in spaceflight.

2:46 Avery: Next, some rocket news from Europe. ESA is

2:49 considering ways to right the wrongs of

2:51 Ariane 6 by turning it into a sort of

2:53 Franken rocket with reusable elements.

2:56 Anna: Ariane 6 debuted last year but has faced

2:59 criticism for being fully expendable, high

3:02 cost, and struggling against reusable

3:04 competitors like SpaceX's Falcon 9.

3:07 It's not hitting the launch cadence or

3:09 affordability goals Europe hoped for.

3:11 Avery: Under ESA's best initiative, Ariane Group

3:14 is proposing to retrofit Ariane 6 by

3:17 swapping its solid rocket boosters for

3:19 reusable liquid field ones from Maya Space.

3:22 Their methane field design, the core and

3:24 upper stage would stay expendable because

3:27 recovering them is much harder. Higher

3:29 speeds, single engine, no easy descent

3:31 control.

3:32 Anna: This plug and play approach could lower

3:35 costs, boost flight rates, and give Europe

3:37 quick experience with reusability. Maya

3:40 Space's full rocket isn't expected until

3:43 2027 at earliest, so integration would

3:45 take time. There's also a separate study for

3:48 a reusable demonstrator from Isar Aerospace.

3:51 Avery: It's, uh, a pragmatic step to catch up.

3:53 Europe knows it needs reusability to compete

3:56 long term. Critics say it's playing catch up

3:59 to tech from a decade ago, but gaining data

4:01 from multiple boosters per flight could

4:03 accelerate progress.

4:05 Anna: Exciting to see Europe innovating, even if

4:07 it's a hybrid solution.

4:09 Avery: Shifting to deep space, the James Webb

4:12 Space Telescope has spotted some truly

4:14 strange cosmic objects that might be baby

4:17 platypus galaxies or perhaps an

4:20 entirely new class of early universe

4:22 phenomena.

4:23 Anna: These appear as compact, oddly shaped

4:26 galaxies in the very early universe, with

4:29 unusual morphologies that don't fit standard

4:32 models. Maybe mergers, rapid

4:34 formation, or something unique.

4:36 JWST's infrared power lets

4:39 us see them at high redshift when the

4:42 universe was young and chaotic.

4:44 Avery: The platypus nickname comes from their

4:46 bizarre mixed features, like a mashup of

4:49 traits from different galaxy types.

4:51 Researchers are debating if they're

4:52 transitional forms feeding black holes in

4:55 disguise, or new physics at play. This could

4:58 reshape our understanding of how the first

5:00 galaxies assembled.

5:02 Anna: JWST keeps delivering surprises.

5:05 Every image challenges our assumptions.

5:08 Avery: Staying galactic New observations show that

5:11 while Sagittarius A, our Milky

5:14 Way's supermassive black hole, is quiet

5:16 now, its recent past was far more active.

5:19 Anna: Using Xrism M and other

5:22 telescopes, astronomers detected

5:24 FEK alpha emission lines in nearby

5:27 molecular clouds like

5:28 0.11 minus

5:31 0.11x ray fluorescence

5:33 from past outbursts illuminating the gas.

5:36 Avery: These flares happened a few hundred to a

5:39 thousand years ago, possibly specific events

5:41 around 130 and 230 years

5:44 back. The black hole likely had a feeding

5:47 frenzy, gobbling a star or gas cloud,

5:50 then settled down, we might see another echo

5:53 in decades.

5:54 Anna: It highlights how black holes toggle between

5:56 active and quiescent states, influencing

5:59 galactic evolution even in quiet

6:02 galaxies like ours. And may it long

6:05 remain quiet, I might add.

6:07 Avery: Finally, exciting news from China. Their

6:09 revolutionary space telescope, the Chinese

6:11 Space Station Telescope, or Sheng Qian, is

6:14 on track for 2026, ready to

6:17 uncover universe.

6:18 Anna: Secrets with a, uh, two meter mirror,

6:21 wide field of view, high resolution imaging

6:24 across multiple wavelengths, and

6:27 spectroscopic capabilities. Shantian will

6:30 map large sky areas directly image

6:32 exoplanets, survey galaxies and

6:35 stars, probe cosmology, dark matter,

6:38 and fundamental physics.

6:40 Avery: Recent breakthroughs include advanced

6:41 simulation suites for pixel level data

6:43 testing, ensuring systems are optimized pre

6:46 launch. It's designed for broad surveys and

6:49 deep looks, complementing Hubble and JWST

6:52 by covering huge areas efficiently.

6:55 Anna: This could lead to major discoveries in

6:57 exoplanets, galaxy evolution, and more.

7:00 China is stepping up big time in space

7:03 astronomy. We'll be watching this with

7:05 interest as the year rolls on.

7:07 Avery: And that's it for today. Time to call it a

7:09 wrap. What a packed day. From human

7:11 spaceflight drama to cosmic deep dives.

7:14 Anna: Thanks so much for listening to Astronomy

7:17 Daily. If you enjoy these updates, subscribe,

7:20 Share with a and we'll be back on Monday with

7:22 more. In the meantime, if you'd like to keep

7:25 abreast of all the latest developments, just

7:27 visit our website at astronomydaily

7:30 IO and check out our News Update page.

7:33 Avery: Until then, keep your eyes on the skies.

7:36 Anna: Clear skies, everyone.

7:38 Avery: Astronomy Day

7:41 Stories Told.

7:49 Anna: The stories.

7:57 Avery: Were told.