S03E104: Viper's Lunar Farewell & ISS's Grand Finale

Welcome listeners to another episode of Astronomy Daily with your host Anna. Today,

we have an exciting lineup of space related news that I'm sure you'll find fascinating.

From updates on NASA's lunar missions to crucial announcements about the future of the

International Space Station. We have a lot to cover, plus we'll dive into

some groundbreaking discoveries in planetary science, including the identification of a hot Jupiter progenitor.

So sit back, relax, and prepare to journey through the latest and

most intriguing developments in the world of astronomy and space exploration. Let's get started.

NASA has officially pulled the plug on the VIPER Lunar Rover mission, which

was aimed at exploring the Moon's south polar region. Originally scheduled for a November

launch, VIPER, or the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, was designed to

search for ice and other resources in the Moon's cold, shadowy craters. It

was supposed to touch down on the lunar surface aboard the Griffin Lander, developed

by Astrobotic as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Services program. The plan was for

Viper to traverse about twenty kilometers over the course of one hundred days, navigating

in and out of permanently shadowed areas. So what happened. During a press

conference on July seventeenth, NASA announced the mission cancelation, citing persistent supply chain

issues as one of the main culprits. Joel Hearns from NASA HQ highlighted the

numerous delays in receiving key components, which consequently delayed the assembly, integration,

and testing phases of the vehicle. Although negotiations had pushed the launch date to

know earlier than November twenty twenty four, more delays loomed, pushing a potential

twenty twenty five landing, which would coincide with the lunar Southpool summer with more

sunlight available. This ongoing cycle of delays risked affecting subsequent commercial missions as well.

Cost overruns added another layer of complexity. Initially, the mission was budgeted

at four hundred and thirty three point five million dollars with a twenty twenty three

launch in mind. With the push to twenty twenty four, the cost swelled

to five hundred and five point five million dollars and a twenty twenty five launch

would have raised the budget to a staggering six hundred and nine point six million

dollars. Out of this, about four hundred fifty million dollars had already been

spent. The rover itself is fully assembled, but the specter of future unknown

costs, including more delays and potential fixes, made the project untenable within NASA's

constrained budget environment. Interestingly, the termination of the Viper mission might not spell

the end for the rover altogether. NASA is willing to open up the use

of Viper and its scientific instruments to US industry and international partners. Expressions of

interest are due by August first, making it possible that VIPER might still contribute

to lunar exploration in some form. Meanwhile, the Griff and Lander initially set

to carry VIPER will still proceed with carrying several private payloads and is slated for

a Moon mission in fall twenty twenty five. Other companies like Firefly Aerospace and

Intuitive Machines are preparing for lunar launches later this year. This decision underlines the

harsh realities and complexities involved in space missions, balancing scientific ambition with fiscal and

logistical constraints. NASA has unveiled plans to deorbit the International Space Station using a

vehicle developed by SpaceX as the end of ISS its operational life approaches. This

move is set to bring a controlled and safe conclusion to two decades of remarkable

achievements and scientific breakthroughs conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory. The ISS, originally set

to be replaced in the twenty thirty s, will not merely fall out of

the sky. Instead, SpaceX's newly commissioned re entry vehicle will manage the entire

deorbit process over a period of twelve to eighteen months. This timeline begins when

the ISS starts its descent from its typical orbit at two hundred and fifty miles

above Earth to roughly one hundred and thirty six miles, a safer distance for

human rated vehicles. SpaceX's deorbit vehicle, based on the Dragon spacecraft design,

is an adaptation of the technology that has been ferrying cargo to the ISS since

twenty twelve and crew since twenty twenty. The key enhancements include robust trunk sections

equipped with additional propellant tanks, specialized engines, and customized avionics. This pivotal

role of SpaceX further solidifies its leadership in space operations, aided by its vertically

integrated supply chain, which gives it a notable edge over competitors like Northrop Grumman.

NASA disclosed that it has an agreement with SpaceX promising up to eight hundred

and forty three million dollars for the development of this vehicle, though this figure

excludes launch costs. This mission will see the ISS drift downwards before the crew

finally exit It's about six months prior to the final re entry. By that

time, the ISS would have descended to about one hundred and thirty six miles

above Earth, setting the stage for the final maneuvers to bring it down safely.

Sarah Walker, director of Dragon Mission Management at SpaceX, expressed confidence in

leveraging Dragon's rich flight history for this mission. The use of NASA certified hardware

for critical systems reduces risks and improves the likelihood of a successful deorbit operation.

As the deorbit vehicle guides the ISS into Earth's atmosphere, the bulk of the

station will burn up, with any remaining fragments expected to fall into a designated

remote ocean location. This careful planning ensures minimal impact and adheres to international safety

guidelines and practices. NASA's decision to use SpaceX for this nuanced and complex task

was influenced by SpaceX's extensive experience and the reliability of its equipment. Beyond the

technical aspects, this mission highlights an important transition in space exploration. The end

of the ISS era paves the way for the next generation of commercial space stations

and platforms. While fulfilling its role, the ISS has become an irreplaceable part

of space history. As its operational life winds down, NASA and its partners

are working meticulously to ensure a safe and dignified end. The ISS partners,

including nations like Russia, which is committed to stay until at least twenty twenty

eight, will also have their parts to play in this concluding chapter. The

goal remains to sustain constant progress in space experiments while minimizing any disruptions up until

the very final moments. In summary, this maneuver, facilitated by SpaceX's cutting

edge vehicle, marks a significant step in space exploration history. It showcases the

intersection of advanced technology and meticulous planning while honoring the legacy of a space station

that has been a beacon of international cooperation and scientific discovery for more than two

decades. Moving forward, the less learned and the technological advances made during the

ISS's tenure will undeniably shape the future of human space exploration. Hot Jupiters are

undoubtedly some of the most intriguing and extreme planets we've discovered in our galaxy.

These planets, roughly as massive as Jupiter, have blistering orbits that bring them

remarkably close to their host stars, completing their trips in just a few days.

However, one long standing mystery has puzzled scientists. Were these hot Jupiters

always broiling on the cosmic stove or did they start off much cooler? Astronomers

at MIT, Penn State University, and various other institutions have pinpointed a hot

Jupiter in the making, effectively catching a planet in the act of becoming one

of these incredible celestial objects. The findings published in Nature signal a significant leap

in our understanding of how these enigmatic planets evolve. So who are the key

players in this discovery. Co authors of this groundbreaking research include MIT undergraduate Hatum

m and lead author Arvind Gupta, along with a host of collaborators from numerous

universities, institutions, and observatories. Their collective efforts unearthed a new planet known

as Tick two four one two four nine five three zero B, situated about

one thousand, one hundred light years from Earth. This planet boasts the most

eccentric orbit ever recorded, and its uniquely positioned to answer many questions about hot

jupiters. To visualize this, let's picture the planet's journey. Tick two four

one two four nine five three zero B swings extremely close to its star,

then dramatically flings itself far out into space before reversing course and repeating the cycle

in a narrow elliptical orbit. If you mapped this orbit within our Solar System,

the planet would dive ten times closer to the Sun than Mercury before hurdling

past Earth and looping back around. But what is truly unique about this planet

isn't just its eccentric orbit. It's also its retrograde motion. Unlike the planets

in our Solar System, which orbit in the same direction as the Sun's rotation,

Tick two four one two four nine five three zero b orbits against the

rotation of its star. This setup provides a valuable snapshot of high eccentricity migration,

a process where a planet's orbit wobbles and tightens over time due to gravitational

interactions. In the case of Tick two four one two four nine five three

zero B, it orbits a primary star that circles a secondary star, forming

a binary system. The gravitational dance between these two stars is causing Tick two

four one two four nine five three zero B to spiral closer to its primary

star as the orbit shrinks and becomes more circular. Over astronomically long periods around

a billion years, the planet will transform into a hot jupiter whirling around its

star every few days. This evolution is far from a smooth ride. Mill

Holland, an assistant professor of physics at MIT, describes it as radical seasons.

The planet endures dramatic changes in starlight, scorching its atmosphere each time it

nears its star. It's an orbital evolution so extreme that it almost reads like

science fiction. NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey satellite tests initially detected Tick two four one

two four nine five three zero B On January twelfth, twenty twenty, Arvind

Gupta's team at Penn State corroborated this finding with other observatories, confirming both the

planet's size and its highly eccentric orbit through radial velocity measurements. These measurements revealed

the gravitational tug that this giant planet exerts on its star, lending further insight

into its unusual trajectory. Simulations of orbital dynamics played a crucial role in understanding

Tick two four one two four nine five three zero b's past and future.

By running these models, middled and m could trace the planet's evolution from a

cold jupiter initially far from its star, toward its destiny as a hot jupiter.

These models suggest that the planet's highly elliptical and retrograde orbit results from gravitational

forces within the binary star system. This finding supports the theory that high eccentricity

migration accounts for the formation of many hot jupiters. Mill Holland eloquently summed this

up by saying, this system highlights how incredibly diverse exoplanets can be. They

are mysterious other worlds that can have wild orbits that tell a story of how

they got that way and where they're going. So what does this mean for

our understanding of planetary evolution? This study not only sheds light on the life

cycle of hot jupiters, but also underscores the importance of multi institutional collaboration and

cutting edge simulations in uncovering the mysteries of our universe. And as Tick two

four one two four nine five three zero B continues its perilous dance, it

offers us a window into the complex and dynamic processes that shape planetary systems.

NASA is now considering preserving small all artifacts from the International Space Station, marking

a reversal of their previous stance that no ISS components would be saved. Two

years ago, the agency had declared no plans to save artifacts from the orbiting

lab. However, the tides are changing, and NASA officials are pondering what

small parts of the ISS could be preserved as mementos. During a recent media

briefing, Ken Bauersock's NASA's Associate administrator for Space Operations and a former ISS commander,

spoke about the station's immense impact over its twenty five year history. He

emphasized that the ISS has become a significant part of human spaceflight, accounting for

almost half of the sixty years we've spent in space. For many the ISS

symbolizes international cooperation, groundbreaking scientific experiments, advancements in human research, complex assembly

in space, and valuable insights into the effects of microgravity on the human body.

NASA initially considered raising the ISS into a higher orbit where it could wait

without a crew until a future intact preservation effort became feasible. However, the

propellant requirements were deemed too high and the risk of debris impacts could potentially leave

the remaining structure in pieces. Hence, they opted for a controlled re entry

utilizing a SpaceX Dragon derived USD orbit vehicle equipped with forty six engines. Interestingly,

while large modules or trust segments won't make it back to Earth, smaller

and more symbolic items might. NASA's revised plan now includes consultations with the Smithsonian

National Air and Space Museum as well as other organizations to develop a preservation strategy.

Items considered for preservation include the ship's bell, ship's logs, display panels

adorned with patches, and other meaningful mementos. NASA currently does not intend to

allocate any dedicated missions solely for returning hardware, but expects that towards the ISS's

end of life there could be enough flexibility to return certain items. This will

happen as the need to service or refurbish the equipment diminishes. Dana Weigel,

NASA's ISS program manager, mentioned that returning memorabilia would be feasible as the mission

requirements shift from operational needs to historical preservation. Other US operating Segment partners,

like the European Space Agency, the japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian

Space Agency also have their respective allocations for upmass and return mass. These agencies

may decide independently what artifacts they wish to preserve. Unfortunately, similar arrangements do

not exist with Roscosmos, Russia's Space Agency, as part of the ISS program's

international barter setup. Ultimately, deciding which artifacts to prioritize for preservation will involve

significant collaboration and negotiation among all partners. There's a potential for tension between scientific

priorities and the desire to save poignant relics of the ISS's storied history, but

NASA is confident that a fair and effective process will emerge, so as the

ISS nears the end of its operational life, prepare to see some of its

pieces immortalized in museums, serving as enduring reminders of humanity's continuous quest to explore

the cosmos. Thank you for tuning in to Astronomy Daily with Anna. I

hope you enjoyed today's episode and found our cosmic updates as fascinating as we did.

Remember, the universe is constantly evolving and there's always something new to discover.

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