NASA's Laser Leap, Asteroid Dining, and Blue Origin's Space Ambitions

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to podcast for the

0:02 Speaker 1: latest and most exciting space and astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna,

0:06 Speaker 1: and we've got a stellar lineup of stories for you today.

0:09 Speaker 1: In this episode, we'll be exploring some groundbreaking developments in

0:12 Speaker 1: space technology and cosmic discoveries. We'll start with NASA's latest

0:16 Speaker 1: achievement in laser communications, which could revolutionize how we send

0:20 Speaker 1: and receive data from space. Then we'll dive into the

0:23 Speaker 1: fascinating world of asteroid mining and how it might just

0:26 Speaker 1: be the key to sustaining long duration space missions. We'll

0:29 Speaker 1: also take a peek at Blue Origins, ambitious plans for

0:32 Speaker 1: the first commercial space station. But that's not all. We'll

0:35 Speaker 1: discuss NASA's new category of space missions and wrap up

0:38 Speaker 1: with a cosmic drama involving a black hole, star destruction,

0:42 Speaker 1: and an unexpected collision. So strap in and get ready

0:46 Speaker 1: for a journey through the cosmos. This is Astronomy Daily,

0:49 Speaker 1: and we're about to take off. NASA has achieved a

0:53 Speaker 1: significant breakthrough in space communications technology with its low cost

0:56 Speaker 1: optical terminal ELCOT. This ground state, made from modified commercial hardware,

1:02 Speaker 1: has successfully transmitted its first laser communications uplink to space.

1:07 Speaker 1: The target of this groundbreaking transmission was t Bird the

1:10 Speaker 1: terabyte infrared delivery payload, a small device about the size

1:14 Speaker 1: of a tissue box that was formerly in low Earth orbit.

1:17 Speaker 1: During the first live sky test, Elcott managed to produce

1:21 Speaker 1: enough uplink intensity for tea Bird to identify the laser beacon,

1:25 Speaker 1: connect and maintain a connection for over three minutes. To

1:29 Speaker 1: put this achievement into perspective, connecting Elcott's laser beacon from

1:32 Speaker 1: Earth to tea Bird required an incredibly precise pointing accuracy

1:37 Speaker 1: of one milaranian that's equivalent to hitting a three foot

1:40 Speaker 1: target from a distance of more than eight American football

1:43 Speaker 1: fields away. This successful test marks a significant step forward

1:46 Speaker 1: for laser communications in space. In a real world scenario,

1:50 Speaker 1: the three minute connection time between te Bird and Elcott

1:52 Speaker 1: would be enough to transmit over five terabytes of critical

1:55 Speaker 1: science data that's equivalent to more than two thy five

1:58 Speaker 1: hundred hours of high definition in a single pass. The

2:01 Speaker 1: potential impact of this technology is enormous. Laser communications can

2:05 Speaker 1: transfer ten to one hundred times more data than traditional

2:08 Speaker 1: radio frequency waves. This means that as our space missions

2:11 Speaker 1: venture further into the solar System and beyond. We'll be

2:14 Speaker 1: able to maintain robust connections and receive unprecedented amounts of

2:18 Speaker 1: data from these distant explorers. NASA's Space Communications and Navigation

2:23 Speaker 1: Program is already implementing laser communications technology in various orbits,

2:28 Speaker 1: including the upcoming Artemis two mission. As we look to

2:31 Speaker 1: the future of space exploration, including potential missions to Mars,

2:35 Speaker 1: this technology could serve as a critical lifeline for astronauts

2:39 Speaker 1: and scientific instruments alike. The Alcott team continues to refine

2:43 Speaker 1: their pointing capabilities through additional tests, demonstrating the potential of

2:47 Speaker 1: laser communications to revolutionize our access to new data about Earth,

2:51 Speaker 1: our Solar System, and beyond. This breakthrough paves the way

2:55 Speaker 1: for a new era in space communications, promising to unlock

2:58 Speaker 1: new frontiers in our under standing of the Cosmos. In

3:02 Speaker 1: a groundbreaking development, researchers from Western Universities Institute for Earth

3:07 Speaker 1: and Space Exploration have unveiled a potential solution to one

3:11 Speaker 1: of the biggest challenges of long duration space missions, food supply.

3:16 Speaker 1: They've identified a way to produce edible biomass using microbes

3:19 Speaker 1: and organic compounds found in asteroids. This innovative process involves

3:24 Speaker 1: using high heat to break down the organic compounds in

3:27 Speaker 1: asteroids through a process called pyrolysis. The resulting hydrocarbons could

3:31 Speaker 1: then be fed to microbes, which would consume the organic

3:34 Speaker 1: material and produce biomass that's nutritionally valuable for humans. The

3:39 Speaker 1: researchers focused on carbonaceous chondrites, a type of asteroid that

3:43 Speaker 1: contains substantial amounts of water and organic matter. Asteroids like Benu,

3:48 Speaker 1: which NASA's Osyrius rex mission recently sampled, fall into this category.

3:52 Speaker 1: Calculations suggest that asteroids similar to Benu could potentially produce

3:56 Speaker 1: between fifty to six thousand, five hundred and five fifty

4:00 Speaker 1: metric tons of edible biomass. That's enough calories to support

4:04 Speaker 1: between six hundred and seventeen thousand astronaut life years, depending

4:08 Speaker 1: on how much of the asteroids organic matter can be

4:10 Speaker 1: converted into food. This method could revolutionize long duration space

4:15 Speaker 1: travel by allowing astronauts to rely on locally sourced food

4:19 Speaker 1: instead of carrying large quantities from Earth. However, there's still

4:22 Speaker 1: work to be done. Future studies will need to explore

4:25 Speaker 1: the practicalities of mining and processing asteroids during missions, as

4:29 Speaker 1: well as ensuring the resulting food is safe and palatable

4:32 Speaker 1: for human consumption. As NASA prepares to retire the International

4:37 Speaker 1: Space Station by the end of this decade, private companies

4:40 Speaker 1: are stepping up to fill the void. Blue Origin, the

4:43 Speaker 1: space company founded by Jeff Bezos, is leading the charge

4:46 Speaker 1: with an ambitious project called Orbital Reef. Imagine a floating

4:50 Speaker 1: business park in space, complete with sleeping quarters, social areas,

4:54 Speaker 1: and state of the art research facilities. That's exactly what

4:57 Speaker 1: Blue Origin is aiming to create with Orbital Refef set

5:00 Speaker 1: to launch by twenty thirty. This commercial space station will

5:03 Speaker 1: orbit three hundred and eleven miles above Earth and boast

5:07 Speaker 1: an impressive twenty nine thousand, three hundred cubic feet of

5:10 Speaker 1: habitable space. The station's modular design allows for future expansion,

5:15 Speaker 1: potentially growing into a larger base camp over time. Initially,

5:18 Speaker 1: Orbital Reef will accommodate up to ten people, including scientists,

5:22 Speaker 1: international astronauts, and even tourists. Yes, you heard that right.

5:26 Speaker 1: Space tourism could become a reality sooner than we think.

5:30 Speaker 1: One of the most exciting features planned for Orbital Reef

5:32 Speaker 1: is the opportunity for spacewalks. Tourists will be able to

5:35 Speaker 1: venture outside the station in specially designed capsules, offering breath

5:39 Speaker 1: taking views of Earth unlike anything possible from the ground.

5:42 Speaker 1: The station will also include hydroponic gardens to grow fresh produce,

5:47 Speaker 1: addressing one of the major challenges of long term space habitation.

5:51 Speaker 1: And for those worried about staying connected, fear not, Orbital

5:54 Speaker 1: Reef will come equipped with Wi Fi, allowing for video

5:57 Speaker 1: calls back to Earth with an unbeatable backdrop. As we

6:00 Speaker 1: look to the future of space exploration and commerce, projects

6:04 Speaker 1: like Orbital Reef represent a bold new frontier. It's an

6:07 Speaker 1: exciting time for space enthusiasts and aspiring astronauts alike, as

6:11 Speaker 1: the dream of living and working in space inches closer

6:13 Speaker 1: to reality. NASA has just unveiled an exciting new category

6:18 Speaker 1: of space missions called Probe Explorers. This new program is

6:21 Speaker 1: designed to bridge the gap between NASA's large scale flagship

6:24 Speaker 1: missions and their smaller exploration projects. The Probe Explorers program

6:29 Speaker 1: aims to foster creative ideas for exploring the universe, and

6:33 Speaker 1: it's already shaping up to be one of NASA's largest

6:35 Speaker 1: astrophysics initiatives. Nikola Fox, NASA's Associate Administrator of the Science

6:41 Speaker 1: Mission Directorate, praise the program for taking creativity to new heights.

6:45 Speaker 1: Two proposed missions are currently under consideration for the inaugural

6:48 Speaker 1: Probe Explorer launch. The first is the Advanced X Ray

6:51 Speaker 1: Imaging Satellite, which would provide a large flat field of

6:55 Speaker 1: view with high spatial resolution. This satellite could revolutionize our

6:59 Speaker 1: understanding of supermassive black holes and galaxy evolution. The second

7:03 Speaker 1: contender is the Probe Far Infrared Mission for Astrophysics. This

7:07 Speaker 1: one point eight meter telescope would study far infrared radiation

7:10 Speaker 1: in space, filling a crucial gap in our observation capabilities

7:15 Speaker 1: between the James Web Space Telescope and radio telescopes. Both

7:19 Speaker 1: projects will receive five million dollars for a twelve month

7:22 Speaker 1: concept study. After careful evaluation, NASA will select one of

7:26 Speaker 1: these missions in twenty twenty six for a planned launch

7:28 Speaker 1: in twenty thirty two. This new program is part of

7:31 Speaker 1: NASA's long running Explorers program, which has been providing low

7:35 Speaker 1: cost access to space since nineteen fifty eight, with over

7:38 Speaker 1: ninety successful science led missions to date. The addition of

7:41 Speaker 1: Probe Explorers promises to usher in a new era of

7:44 Speaker 1: cosmic discovery and innovation in a cosmic drama of epic proportions,

7:49 Speaker 1: Astronomers have witnessed a massive black hole engaged in a

7:53 Speaker 1: destructive rampage. This celestial behemoth first tore apart an unfortunate

7:57 Speaker 1: star that ventured too close, and is now now using

8:00 Speaker 1: the stellar debris as ammunition to pummel another nearby object.

8:04 Speaker 1: This extraordinary discovery was made possible through the combined efforts

8:08 Speaker 1: of multiple NASA observatories, including the Chandra X ray Observatory,

8:13 Speaker 1: Hubble Space Telescope, and the Nicer instrument aboard the International

8:17 Speaker 1: Space Station. The story begins in twenty nineteen when astronomers

8:20 Speaker 1: observed a star being shredded by the immense gravitational forces

8:23 Speaker 1: of a supermassive black hole. This violent event, known as

8:26 Speaker 1: a tidal disruption, left behind a disc of stellar remains

8:30 Speaker 1: orbiting the black hole, but the cosmic spectacle didn't end there.

8:33 Speaker 1: Over the next few years, this debris disc expanded outward,

8:37 Speaker 1: setting the stage for an even more dramatic encounter. The

8:40 Speaker 1: expanding disc has now collided with another celestial body, either

8:44 Speaker 1: a star or a smaller black hole that was previously

8:47 Speaker 1: orbiting at a safe distance from the central supermassive black hole.

8:51 Speaker 1: This collision is creating repeated bursts of X rays as

8:54 Speaker 1: the orbiting object plows through the debris disc approximately every

8:57 Speaker 1: forty eight hours. It's like watching a cosmme game of

9:00 Speaker 1: bumper cars, but with far more devastating consequences. What makes

9:04 Speaker 1: this discovery particularly exciting is that it provides a crucial

9:07 Speaker 1: link between two previously mysterious phenomena, tidal disruption events and

9:13 Speaker 1: quasi periodic eruptions. Scientists have long suspected a connection between

9:17 Speaker 1: these two types of events, and now they have the

9:20 Speaker 1: evidence to prove it. This cosmic collision is not only

9:23 Speaker 1: a spectacular display of the universe's violent nature, but also

9:27 Speaker 1: a valuable opportunity for astronomers to study the environment around

9:31 Speaker 1: super massive black holes. It offers insights into the distribution

9:35 Speaker 1: of matter and the gravitational dynamics in these extreme cosmic neighborhoods.

9:40 Speaker 1: As we continue to observe this ongoing stellar drama, who

9:44 Speaker 1: knows what other secrets of the universe it might reveal.

9:47 Speaker 1: It's a potent reminder of the dynamic and ever changing

9:49 Speaker 1: nature of our cosmos, where destruction and creation often go

9:53 Speaker 1: hand in hand. And that wraps up today's episode of

9:57 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily. What an incredible journey through the Cosmos we've had.

10:01 Speaker 1: From groundbreaking laser communications to the possibility of asteroid based

10:05 Speaker 1: space food, the future of space exploration is looking brighter

10:08 Speaker 1: than ever. I'm Anna and it's been my pleasure to

10:11 Speaker 1: guide you through these fascinating developments in space and astronomy.

10:14 Speaker 1: If you've enjoyed today's episode and want to stay up

10:17 Speaker 1: to date with all the latest cosmic news, I've got

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11:04 Speaker 1: be discovered until next time. This is Anna signing off

11:07 Speaker 1: from Astronomy Daily Sunny Day. Star is So, Star is

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