Medical Evacuation from the ISS | Wobbling Black Hole Jets | Lunar Hotel Reservations: Your Daily Space Update

0:00 Anna: Hello everyone, and welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna. Avery: And I'm Avery. Thanks for joining us on this exciting Tuesday, January 13, 2026. We've got an incredible lineup of space news to share with you today. Anna: We really do, Avery. We're covering everything from a, uh, historic first on the International Space Station to groundbreaking black hole discoveries. Plus we've got some fantastic mission updates from NASA. And believe it or not, you can now put down a deposit for a hotel room room on the moon.

0:33 Avery: That's right. It's going to be a packed episode. But first, let's start with some update news from the International Space Station that's making history for all the wrong reasons. Anna: So, Avery, we're witnessing something that's never happened before in the 25 year history of the International Space Station. On Sunday, NASA announced the first ever medical evacuation from the ISS. Avery: That's right, Anna. The SpaceX Crew 11 mission, which launched to the station back in August 2025, is being cut short due to an undisclosed medical condition affecting one of the four crew members.

1:09 The team includes NASA astronauts Mike Fink and Xena Cardman, Russia's Oleg Platnov and Japan's Kimiya Yui. Anna: And yesterday we saw a really touching change of command ceremony. Mike Fink, who was serving as commander of Expedition 74, handed control of the station over Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud Sverchkov during the ceremony. Fink called it bittersweet and you could really feel the emotion in his words. Avery: I read about that. Fink told Kud Schwarchkov. It's an honour and a pleasure to be a commander and I cannot imagine being happier than to hand over command to you.

1:48 The crew schedule to undock from the ISS on Wednesday afternoon, with hatch closing at 3pm eastern time and departure at 5pm they'll then make an 11 hour journey back to Earth aboard their Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Anna: They're expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean early Thursday morning around 3:40am Eastern Time. Now, one interesting aspect of this situation is that NASA has declined to specify which astronaut is experiencing the medical issue, citing privacy concerns. They also haven't disclosed the nature of the medical condition itself.

2:23 Avery: This early departure creates an unusual situation on the station. After Crew 11 leaves, there will only be three astronauts board, including just one American, Chris Williams. That's well below the typical crew complement, right? Anna: Normally, NASA prefers crew overlap to avoid gaps in maintenance and research capabilities. But they've deemed this medical situation serious enough to warrant the immediate return, even if it means operating with a skeleton crew until the next rotation arrives.

2:54 Avery: And speaking of the next rotation, Crew 12 was originally scheduled to launch in mid February. NASA is now evaluating if they can move that launch date up. Of course, this all to be coordinated with another major event on NASA's calendar. Anna: You're talking about Artemis 2, right? Avery: Exactly. NASA is simultaneously working to roll out the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis 2 mission from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Centre. That rollout is scheduled for January 17th.

3:27 With the first launch opportunity for Artemis 2 opening on February 6th. Anna: It's a delicate balancing act for NASA operations. According to NASA Administrator, the ISS evacuation shouldn't interfere with the Artemis II timeline, but it certainly adds complexity to an already busy schedule. Avery: Absolutely. This situation really highlights how NASA handles unexpected medical challenges in space. They have protocols in place, but this is the first time they've actually had to implement a full medical evacuation from the station.

3:58 Anna: It's worth noting that while this is the first medical evacuation, it's not the first time medical concerns have affected ISS operations. Just last week a uh, planned spacewalk had to be cancelled due to these same medical concerns that ultimately led to the evacuation decision. Avery: We wish all 4 crew 11 astronauts a safe journey home and a quick recovery to whoever's dealing with a medical issue. Anna: Now let's shift gears to some absolutely fascinating astronomy news. Avery. Astronomers have discovered something they've never seen seen before.

4:31 A galaxy wide wobbling black hole jet. Avery: This is really cool stuff. Ana A UH team led by researchers at UC Irvine and Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Centre has found the largest and most extended jet ever observed emanating from a supermassive black hole. And it's doing something remarkable. It's wobbling. Anna: The galaxy in question is called VV340A and the jet extends up to 20,000 light years from its centre. To put that perspective, that's about 1/5 the diameter of the Milky Way galaxy.

5:06 These jets are composed of superheated material being accelerated to near the speed of light. Avery: The observations were made using the W.M. keck Observatory's Keck Cosmic Web Imager on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. But what really makes this discovery special is that the team combined data from multiple observatories to get the complete picture right. Anna: They used infrared observations from the James Webb Space Telescope, radio images from the very large erect, and the optical data from Keck. Each observatory revealed different aspects of this phenomenon.

5:40 Webb's infrared data showed the energetic heart of the galaxy, while Keck's optical data showed how that energy propagates outward and the violet. Avery: Radio data revealed something remarkable. The plasma jets are twisted into a helical pattern as they move outward. This is evidence of what's called jet precession, where the jet's direction slowly wobbles over time, kind of like a spinning top. Anna: Lead author Justin Cater from UC Irvine said the Keck Observatory data was crucial. He noted that the gas they observed with Keck reaches the farthest distances from the black hole, meaning it also traces the longest timescales.

6:18 Without those observations, they wouldn't know how powerful or persistent this outflow really is. Avery: What's particularly surprising about this discovery is where it was found. VV340A is a relatively young galaxy, still in the early stages of a galactic merger. Typically, these kinds of jets are observed in older elliptical galaxies that have long since stopped forming stars. Anna: That's a great point. The Webb data showed that the superheated coronal gas, the plasma erupting from either side of the black hole, measures several thousand parsecs across.

6:53 Most observed coronas measure in the hundreds of parsecs, making this the most extended coronal gas structure ever observed. Avery: The discovery also revealed that the jet is actively affecting the galaxy's evolution. The KCWI data data showed that the jet is stripping the galaxy of gas at a rate of about 20 solar masses per year, effectively shutting down star formation. Anna: This finding challenges our established theories about how galaxies and their supermassive black holes evolve together.

7:23 As Cater put it, this is the first time we've seen a precessing kiloparsec scale radiojet deriving such a massive outflow in a disc galaxy. Avery: He also noted something intriguing about the Milky Way. He said there's no clear fossil record of something like this happening in our galaxy. But this discovery suggests we can't rule it out. It changes the way we think about the galaxy we live in. Anna: The next step for the team involves higher resolution radio observations to determine whether a second supermassive black hole could be at the centre of VV340A, which might be causing the jets to wobble.

8:00 Avery: It's an exciting time for studying black holes and their impact on galactic evolution. This discovery opens up new questions about how common this type of activity might be in the universe. Anna: Now let's take a look at what's launching this week. We've got a busy manifest with eight orbital launch attempts scheduled from China, the United States and Norway. Avery: That's right, Anna, uh, SpaceX is dominating the American launch schedule. As usual, they're launching two batches of Starlink satellites into the constellation's Group 6 shell, as well as a batch of reconnaissance satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.

8:35 Anna: The first Starlink mission of the week, Group 697 actually already lifted off yesterday. Monday, January 12th at 4:08pm Eastern Time from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9 flew 29 Starlink version 2 mini satellites into orbit and the. Avery: Booster that supported that mission, B1078, was flying for its 25th time after stage separation. It successfully landed on the ship. Just read the instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. These reusability numbers just keep getting more impressive.

9:09 Anna: They really do. The next StarLink Mission, Group 698 is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th at 1:01pm Eastern from the same launch site that will use booster B1085 on its 13th flight landing on the A UH shortfall of Gravitas droneship moving over to China. Avery: They have four launches on the manifest this week. On Tuesday, the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is launching a Chang Zhang 8 a rocket from Wenchang. The payload is unknown, but this marks the first CZ8Amission of 2026 and the seventh overall.

9:45 Anna: Then on Thursday we have a Changzang 3B E launch from Shisheng carrying another unknown payload. The CZ3BE is one of China's workhorse rockets and this will be its 103rd launch overall. Avery: Also on Thursday, private Chinese spaceflight company Galactic Energy is scheduled to launch a Series 1s rocket from the Orient Spaceport launch ship. This will be the first Series 1s mission of 2026 and the 23rd overall for this solid fueled rocket. Anna: And here's something exciting. Galactic Energy is also debuting its new Series 2 rocket this week.

10:20 The demonstration flight is scheduled for Saturday, January 17 from the Zhouquan Satellite Launch Centre. The Series 2 is a larger upgraded version capable of lifting about 2,000 kilogrammes. Avery: To low Earth orbit back to the United States. SpaceX has a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. NROL 105 is scheduled to launch Friday evening, January 16 at 8:18pm Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Anna: This mission is using brand new booster B1100 on only its second flight and it'll perform a return to launch site landing at landing zone 4 right next to the launch pad.

10:59 This represents the 12th batch of satellites launched into this particular NRL Constell installation developed by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. Avery: And finally wrapping up the week, German company Isar Aerospace is scheduled to launch the second test flight of its Spectrum rocket from Norway's Andoya rocket range. This comes after the first test flight in March 2025 failed shortly after liftoff. Anna: The Spectrum rocket stands 28 metres tall and uses nine Aquila engines on the first stage and one on the second stage, burning propane and liquid oxygen.

11:32 It's expected to carry several cubesats to sun synchronous orbit for the European Space Agency's Boost programme. Avery: If successful, this will mark Spectrum's first flight of 2026 and the 13th worldwide orbital launch attempt of the year. It's shaping up to be a busy week in spaceflight. Anna: Alright, Avery, let's talk about some mission milestones. NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has reached its target orbit. Avery: This is great news, Anna. The spacecraft achieved its destination at Lagrange Point 1, or L1, which is approximately 1 million miles from Earth towards the Sun.

12:09 The confirmation came on January 10, following the spacecraft's third and final orbital manoeuvre. A two minute thruster fire on January 8. Anna: For those unfamiliar, L1 is one of those special points in space where the gravitational forces of the Earth and sun balance out, creating a stable position. It's an ideal spot for observing the Earth and sun simultaneously. Avery: Exactly. And Carruthers has a very specific mission to capture the first repeated observations of the ultraviolet glow from Earth's outer atmosphere.

12:41 Known as the Geocorona, the mission is named in honour of Dr. George R. Carruthers, who invented the ultraviolet camera that was placed on the moon by Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972. Anna: That Apollo 16 camera captured the very first images of Earth's geo corona. Now, more than 50 years later, later, Carruthers is going to study it in unprecedented detail from its vantage point at L1. Avery: The loveseat size spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space centre back on September 24, uh, 2025. Since launch, the team has been testing the spacecraft's instruments and capturing what they call first light images.

13:21 While adjusting its course as it approached. Anna: L1, I saw those first light images. They're really impressive. The spacecraft has two cameras, a wide field Imager and a narrow field image capture ultraviolet light and the images clearly show Earth with this fuzzy halo around it, which is the geochorona. Avery: What's interesting is that you can also see the Moon in those images. And the lunar surface still shines in this specific wavelength of light called Lyman Alpha because its rocky surface reflects all wavelengths of sunlight.

13:54 That's actually why it's important to compare the Lyman Alpha images with the broad. Anna: Ultraviolet filter The Narrow field Imager even captured two background stars that must have surface temperatures approximately twice as hot as our sun to be so bright in this wavelength of light. Avery: Carruthers is now beginning its final checkout procedures before starting its two year primary science mission in March. From L1 it will provide scientists with the most detailed views ever of how Earth's outermost atmospheric layer interacts with the space environment.

14:26 Anna: The mission is led by Dr. Lara Waldrop from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, with the Space Sciences Lab at ah, UC Berkeley leading mission implementation and operations. Avery: Speaking of missions reaching their destinations, Anna uh, NASA's IMAP mission has also arrived at L1. Anna: That's right. IMAP, which stands for Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, reached Lagrange Point 1 on January 10, just two days after Carruthers completed its final manoeuvre. Avery: The mission operations team sent commands to the spacecraft on the morning of January 9 to begin the trajectory manoeuvres.

15:02 Early on January 10, they confirmed that IMAP had successfully entered its final L1 orbit, where it will stay for the duration of its mission. Anna: IMAP has a fascinating mission profile. It's going to explore and map the very boundaries of our heliosphere. That's the protective bubble created by the solar wind that encapsulates our entire solar system. It will study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighbourhood beyond. Avery: Think of IMAP as a modern day celestial cartographer.

15:32 It's going to explore and chart the vast range of particles in interplanetary space, investigating how charged particles from the sun get energised and how the solar wind interacts at uh, the boundary with interstellar space. Anna: But IMAP also has a very practical application. It will provide real time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles, giving critical data that can help protect spacecraft and astronauts from adverse space weather effects. Avery: L1 provides IMAP with a stable and clear 360 degree view of the heliosphere.

16:07 This position also gives an unobstructed view of the sun, which means the spacecraft can give about a half hour's warning to astronauts and spacecraft near Earth of harmful radiation coming their way. Anna: IMAP launched on September 24, 2025. The same day as Carruthers. They travelled to loan together along with Nooa's SWFO Lagrange, which stands for Space Weather Follow on Lagrange 1. At loan, they join other spacecraft already in orbit there, like NASA's Wind and ACE missions and the ESA NASA SOHO Observatory.

16:47 Avery: The mission is led by principal investigator David McComas, a professor at Princeton University with an international team of more than 20 partner institutions. Institutions. Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory built a spacecraft and operates the mission. Anna: IMAP is nearing completion of its commissioning phase and will begin its science mission on February 1st. The data from IMAP's State of the art instrumentation will greatly enhance the usefulness of data from those other missions.

17:17 At L1. Avery: It's exciting to have both Carruthers and IMAP reaching their destinations at the same time. They launched together, travel together, and now they're both settling into the their orbits to begin their science missions. Anna: Okay, Avery, save the best for last, right? You can now put down a deposit for a hotel room on the moon. Avery: I know it sounds like science fiction, Anna, uh, but this is for real. A company called GRU Space, that's Galactic Resources Utilisation, has publicly announced its intent to construct a series of habitats on the moon, culminating in a hotel that's actually inspired by the palace of the Fine Arts in San Francisco.

17:57 Anna: On Monday, the company opened applications for aspiring lunar tourists. You can place a deposit ranging from $250,000 to $1,000,000 to reserve a spot on one of their early lunar surface missions. They're targeting as early as 2032 for the hotel opening. Avery: Now, before anyone rushes to empty their bank accounts, let's talk about what this actually involves. Groove Space is a Y Combinator backed start startup founded in 2025 by Skyler Chan, a recent UC Berkeley graduate who's only 22 years old.

18:30 The company has received backing from investors in SpaceX and Anduril. Anna: What makes GRU's approach interesting is that they're not planning to ship all the building materials from Earth. Instead, they want to use In Situ Resource Utilisation, or ISRU technology. That means using robotic systems to transform lunar soil regular Lilith into durable building blocks. Avery: Their roadmap starts with a 2029 demonstration mission to validate the process of turning lunar soil into bricks. By 2032, if everything goes according to plan, they expect to open what would be the world's first lunar hotel inside a lunar cave which provides natural protection from radiation and temperature extremes.

19:14 Anna: The initial hotel will be built on Earth and delivered by a heavy lander. It's an inflatable structure designed to host a precious to four guests for multi day stays. The hotel is designed to operate for 10 years and will offer views of the lunar landscape and Earth, along with activities like moonwalks, driving rovers, and get this, they're even talking about golf. Avery: Of course, this is an incredibly ambitious plan. In their whitepaper, GRU acknowledges that execution heavily relies on factors outside their control.

19:46 They need decreasing launch costs, costs, regular and reliable crewed flights to the lunar surface, a, uh, favourable regulatory environment and supporting infrastructure like lunar power and communications. Anna: All of which are in various stages of development. The company's vision doesn't stop at Moon hotels either. After establishing the first hotel, they want to help build America's first moon base with roads and warehouses, then expand to Mars and eventually the Asteroid belt. Avery: Skyler Chan, the founder, has been passionate about space since childhood.

20:19 He said that I've been, uh, obsessed with space since I was a kid. I've always wanted to become an astronaut and feel extremely fortunate to be doing my life's work. He also mentioned that if they succeed, billions of human lives will be born on the Moon and Mars and be able to experience the beauty of lunar and Martian life. Anna: There's actually a $1,000 non refundable application fee just to apply, and that doesn't guarantee approval. Selected applicants will receive invitations tied to specific mission roles and lunar stays.

20:51 Avery: It's worth noting that this isn't the first time someone has proposed a lunar hotel. Hilton Hotels actually had a Lunar Hilton concept in the 1960s and even printed reservation cards and room keys as promotional items. Anna: True. And back in 1973, Hilton partnered with Trans International Airlines to produce a brochure inviting customers to a trip to the moon sometime after 1973, with costs up to $25,000 per person. Of course, that never materialised. Avery: The big question is whether GRU Space can succeed where others have only dreamed.

21:29 They've got the backing, they've got the vision, and they've got a founder who's putting everything into making it happen. The timeline aligns with NASA's renewed push to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon Moon through the Artemis programme. Anna: Even if this particular venture doesn't pan out exactly as planned, it's exciting to see private companies seriously pursuing lunar infrastructure. The fact that we're even having this conversation about booking hotel rooms on the Moon shows how far space exploration has come.

21:59 Avery: Absolutely. Whether it's 2032 or 2042, the era of lunar tourism feels like it's genuinely approaching. We might actually see commercial lunar hotels in our lifetime. Anna: Well, that's all the time we have for today's episode of Astronomy Daily. What an incredible day of space news. Avery: Uh, from the historic iss, medical evacuation and wobbling black hole jets, to missions reaching their destinations at L1, and even the possibility of vacationing on the Moon, it's been quite a journey.

22:32 Anna: If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe to Astronomy Daily wherever you get your podcast. And don't forget to leave us a review. It really helps other space enthusiasts find the show. Avery: You can find us on social media and at our website. For more space news and updates. Just search for astrodaily Pod on socials or visit us on the web at astronomydaily IO. Thanks so much for listening, everyone. Anna: Until next time, keep looking up. Avery: See you, uh, tomorrow. Clear Skies, Astronomy Day.

23:03 Storeys we told. Anna: What.

23:13 Avery: Storeys.

23:21 We told.