S03E126: SpaceX's Polar Mission, Mars' Hidden Water, and Gaia's Asteroid Moons

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host Anna. In today's episode,

0:04 Speaker 1: we'll be exploring some exciting and groundbreaking news in the

0:06 Speaker 1: world of space and astronomy. Get ready to hear about

0:09 Speaker 1: SpaceX's remarkable new mission that's set to fly an international

0:13 Speaker 1: crew around Earth's poles, discover the hidden reservoirs of liquid

0:17 Speaker 1: water deep beneath the Martian surface, and catch up on

0:21 Speaker 1: the flurry of rocket launches happening this month. Plus, we'll

0:25 Speaker 1: delve into the fascinating findings from the Gaya Space Telescope,

0:28 Speaker 1: which has identified hundreds of potential moons around asteroids. So

0:32 Speaker 1: sit back, relax, and let's dive into today's stellar stories.

0:37 Speaker 1: SpaceX has announced a groundbreaking, privately financed mission that promises

0:40 Speaker 1: to send a diverse international crew of four around Earth's poles.

0:45 Speaker 1: This historic flight will feature a blockchain entrepreneur, a cinematographer,

0:49 Speaker 1: a polar adventurer, and a robotics researcher. Each individual brings

0:54 Speaker 1: their unique expertise and interests to this mission, which aims

0:58 Speaker 1: to observe the ice caps and extreme polar environments from

1:01 Speaker 1: space for the very first time. Leading this adventurous team

1:05 Speaker 1: is Chun Wang a well known blockchain pioneer who founded

1:08 Speaker 1: f two pool and Steakfish, two of the largest bitcoin

1:12 Speaker 1: mining pools, and ethereum staking providers. Joining him are Norwegian

1:16 Speaker 1: cinematographer Janica Mickelson, Australian adventurer Eric Phillips, and German robotics

1:21 Speaker 1: researcher Rabia Roga. Each team member shares a passionate interest

1:24 Speaker 1: in extreme polar environments, and they plan to conduct relevant

1:28 Speaker 1: research and photography from orbit. The mission, aptly named Fram

1:32 Speaker 1: two in honor of the historic Norwegian ship used to

1:35 Speaker 1: explore the Arctic and Antarctic regions, will last between three

1:39 Speaker 1: to five days. The crew dragon capsule will orbit the

1:42 Speaker 1: Earth at altitudes between two hundred and sixty five and

1:45 Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty miles, providing a unique vantage point

1:49 Speaker 1: for the crew to study and photograph the Earth's polar regions.

1:53 Speaker 1: No astronauts or cosmonauts have ever viewed Earth from the

1:56 Speaker 1: perspective of a polar orbit, which is inclined ninety degrees

1:59 Speaker 1: to the equator. Such orbits are typically reserved for spy satellites,

2:03 Speaker 1: weather stations, and commercial photo reconnaissance satellites. This new trajectory

2:07 Speaker 1: will unlock unprecedented possibilities for human spaceflight. Jared Isaac Mann,

2:12 Speaker 1: the billionaire philanthropist who chartered the first private SpaceX mission,

2:16 Speaker 1: Inspiration four, and plans yet another mission later this month,

2:21 Speaker 1: tweeted his support for the fram two crew, highlighting the

2:24 Speaker 1: potential of commercial space missions. The crew Dragon capsule for

2:28 Speaker 1: this mission is equipped with a transparent cupola, offering the

2:32 Speaker 1: crew a breathtaking view of Earth below and the vast

2:35 Speaker 1: expanse of space above. This mission is another testament to

2:38 Speaker 1: SpaceX's growing capabilities and the vision of NASA's commercial crew program.

2:43 Speaker 1: As they orbit Earth's polls. Wang and his crew aim

2:46 Speaker 1: to bring a sense of wonder and curiosity to the

2:49 Speaker 1: public while pushing the boundaries of technology and exploration. It's

2:54 Speaker 1: an exciting step forward in our quest to unlock the

2:56 Speaker 1: last Great frontier. Recent studies using data from NASA's Mars

3:01 Speaker 1: Insite Lander have indicated an incredible discovery there might be

3:04 Speaker 1: liquid water deep beneath the Martian surface. This groundbreaking revelation

3:09 Speaker 1: opens new doors in our quest to understand Mars and

3:12 Speaker 1: its potential to harbor life. The Insite Lander has been

3:15 Speaker 1: on Mars since twenty eighteen, meticulously collecting seismic data and

3:19 Speaker 1: analyzing how quakes travel through the ground. Researchers use this

3:23 Speaker 1: data to identify the most likely presence of liquid water

3:25 Speaker 1: at depths between seven and twenty kilometers below the surface.

3:29 Speaker 1: It turns out these findings suggest that Mars's subsurface could

3:32 Speaker 1: hold vast reservoirs of water, even more extensive than we

3:35 Speaker 1: previously thought. This discovery is monumental because water is a

3:39 Speaker 1: key ingredient for life as we know it. Geological studies

3:42 Speaker 1: of Mars have long shown that the planet's surface once

3:44 Speaker 1: had lakes, rivers, and even oceans more than three billion

3:48 Speaker 1: years ago.

3:49 Speaker 2: Understanding where this water has gone, whether.

3:51 Speaker 1: It seeped into the subsurface, evaporated, or froze, could provide

3:55 Speaker 1: significant insights into Mars's climate history and its capacity to

4:00 Speaker 1: support life. According to Vashon Wright from the University of California,

4:04 Speaker 1: San Diego's scripts Institution of Oceanography, the presence of liquid

4:08 Speaker 1: water deep within Mars's crust brings up the possibility that,

4:12 Speaker 1: similar to Earth, microbial life could exist.

4:15 Speaker 2: In these underground reservoirs.

4:17 Speaker 1: He points out that the ingredients for life as we

4:20 Speaker 1: know it exist in the Martian subsurface. If these interpretations

4:24 Speaker 1: are correct. While it's currently impossible to study this deep

4:27 Speaker 1: subsurface water directly, the implications are vast. This new understanding

4:32 Speaker 1: could guide future missions aiming to uncover Mars's water cycle,

4:36 Speaker 1: search for signs of past or existing life, and even

4:39 Speaker 1: consider the feasibility of utilizing these water resources for human

4:43 Speaker 1: missions in the future.

4:44 Speaker 2: The study bringing.

4:45 Speaker 1: These discoveries to light was recently published in the journal

4:49 Speaker 1: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and it has

4:53 Speaker 1: certainly sparked renewed excitement and curiosity about what lies beneath

4:57 Speaker 1: the surface of the Red Planet. Moving on to our

5:01 Speaker 1: launch roundup, this week will be packed with activity, featuring

5:05 Speaker 1: four major rocket launches on Thursday that highlight the expanding

5:09 Speaker 1: capabilities of space agencies around the world. Starting off, a

5:12 Speaker 1: Russian Soyuz rocket will make another resupply mission to the

5:15 Speaker 1: International Space Station. The Progress MS twenty eight will lift

5:19 Speaker 1: off from the Baikonor Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying approximately two

5:23 Speaker 1: thy four hundred kilograms of vital food, water, clothing, fuel,

5:28 Speaker 1: and equipment for the ISS crew. This mission marks the

5:31 Speaker 1: fourth launch of the year for the Soyuz two point

5:33 Speaker 1: one a rocket further solidifying Russia's position in space logistics.

5:38 Speaker 1: Next on Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organization is ROW

5:42 Speaker 1: will achieve a significant milestone with the final certification flight

5:45 Speaker 1: of its new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle or SSLv. The

5:50 Speaker 1: SSLVD three mission will lift off from the Statis Dewan

5:53 Speaker 1: Space Center carrying the EOS zero eight Earth observation satellite

5:57 Speaker 1: along with two CubeSats space Rick SHA zero and IMSAT,

6:02 Speaker 1: aiming for a successful low Earth orbit. This mission paves

6:05 Speaker 1: the way for the SSLv to move into regular operational status,

6:09 Speaker 1: contributing significantly to India's growing private sector space activities. SpaceX

6:14 Speaker 1: also had a busy week with two Falcon nine launches.

6:16 Speaker 2: The first will be the Worldview.

6:18 Speaker 1: Legion three and four mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force

6:21 Speaker 1: Station in Florida. These two advanced imaging satellites join the

6:25 Speaker 1: Maxar Digital Globe constellation, enhancing Earth observation capabilities with their

6:31 Speaker 1: high resolution optical imagers. This mission underscores SpaceX's commitment to

6:36 Speaker 1: frequent and reliable launches. The second SpaceX launch, Transporter eleven,

6:40 Speaker 1: takes place from Vandenberg Space Force Space in California. This

6:44 Speaker 1: ride share mission will carry around fifty small payloads from

6:47 Speaker 1: various countries, including a high profile weather observation satellite from

6:51 Speaker 1: the European Space Agency designed to improve forecasts in the

6:54 Speaker 1: Arctic region. The Transporter missions have become a robust platform

6:58 Speaker 1: for deploying a diverse range of small satellites, providing numerous

7:02 Speaker 1: opportunities for scientific and commercial endeavors. Each of these missions

7:07 Speaker 1: showcases not just the technical prowess of the involved space agencies,

7:11 Speaker 1: but also the collaborative and international nature of modern space exploration.

7:16 Speaker 1: Whether it's resupplying the ISS, enhancing Earth observation, or enabling

7:21 Speaker 1: a new generation of satellites. This week's launches are clear

7:24 Speaker 1: indicators of forward momentum in the space industry. The Gaya

7:29 Speaker 1: Space telescope has made a groundbreaking discovery identifying more than

7:33 Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty potential moons around asteroids. This is

7:37 Speaker 1: a significant step forward for astronomers, offering new insights into

7:41 Speaker 1: the dynamics of binary asteroid systems, pairs of asteroids where

7:45 Speaker 1: one moon orbits around a larger primary asteroid. The detection

7:49 Speaker 1: of these asteroid moons was achieved by observing the gravitational

7:53 Speaker 1: wobble in the light signals captured by Gaya.

7:56 Speaker 2: This subtle wobble occurs.

7:58 Speaker 1: Due to the gravitational poll that the moon exerts on

8:00 Speaker 1: the primary asteroid, causing both objects to move in a

8:03 Speaker 1: small mutual orbit. This method of detection is particularly powerful

8:07 Speaker 1: because it allows astronomers to identify moons that are otherwise

8:10 Speaker 1: too small or distant to be detected by traditional telescopic

8:14 Speaker 1: imaging or radar measurements. Lead author Luana Liberato and her

8:18 Speaker 1: team at the Observatoire de la Cote Dessur in France

8:21 Speaker 1: spearheaded this innovative study, revealing that while previous methods have

8:25 Speaker 1: discovered about five hundred binary asteroids, Gaya's observations suggest there

8:29 Speaker 1: are many more out there waiting to be found. This

8:32 Speaker 1: discovery is especially intriguing because it indicates that a significant

8:36 Speaker 1: fraction of asteroids in our Solar system could have moons,

8:40 Speaker 1: reshaping our understanding of these celestial bodies. Among the limitations

8:45 Speaker 1: and challenges, the wobble effect used for detection can sometimes

8:49 Speaker 1: be caused by a single irregularly shaped asteroid rather than

8:53 Speaker 1: a binary system. Despite this, further observations using Gaya's data

8:58 Speaker 1: and other telescopes help confirm which of these detections are

9:01 Speaker 1: indeed binary asteroids. Guya's third data release provided the critical

9:05 Speaker 1: information for this discovery, a significant improvement in quality over

9:10 Speaker 1: the previous release. This data set's precision enabled researchers to

9:14 Speaker 1: detect hundreds of new asteroid moons that went unnoticed in

9:17 Speaker 1: earlier observations. This discovery not only underscores gya's versatility beyond

9:23 Speaker 1: its primary mission of mapping the Milky Way, but also

9:26 Speaker 1: highlights its contributions to asteroid science. As GYA continues its mission,

9:31 Speaker 1: astronomers anticipate even more groundbreaking discoveries shedding light on both

9:35 Speaker 1: our Solar system and the broader cosmos. With this exciting revelation,

9:39 Speaker 1: GIA once again proves its invaluable role in advancing our

9:43 Speaker 1: understanding of space, paving the way for future research and exploration.

9:49 Speaker 1: That's all for today's episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm anna

9:52 Speaker 1: and it has been a pleasure bringing you the latest

9:54 Speaker 1: in space and astronomy news. Be sure to visit our

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