S03E162: X-Ray Asteroid Defense, Mars Rock Mystery, and ISS Milestones

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space

0:03 Speaker 1: in astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and we've got

0:05 Speaker 1: an exciting lineup of stories for you today, from innovative

0:08 Speaker 1: methods to protect our planet from potential asteroid impacts to

0:12 Speaker 1: groundbreaking discoveries on the surface of Mars. We'll be exploring

0:16 Speaker 1: the cutting edge of space exploration and research. We'll also

0:19 Speaker 1: be catching up with astronauts returning from the International Space Station,

0:23 Speaker 1: looking ahead to upcoming missions, and even delving into some

0:27 Speaker 1: cosmic history that might have affected Earth's climate millions of

0:30 Speaker 1: years ago. So strap in and get ready for a

0:33 Speaker 1: journey across the Solar System and beyond as we bring

0:36 Speaker 1: you up to speed on the most fascinating developments in

0:39 Speaker 1: astronomy and space science. And let's kick off with something

0:42 Speaker 1: quite exciting. In a groundbreaking development, scientists have proposed a

0:47 Speaker 1: new method to protect our planet from potential asteroid impacts.

0:51 Speaker 1: Our recent study published in Nature Physics suggests that powerful

0:55 Speaker 1: X rays could be an effective way to divert asteroids

0:58 Speaker 1: on collision courses with Earth. While the chances of a

1:01 Speaker 1: large asteroid hitting our planet are extremely low, the consequences

1:05 Speaker 1: could be catastrophic. That's why researchers are constantly exploring new

1:09 Speaker 1: ways to defend against this cosmic threat. The study, conducted

1:13 Speaker 1: by a team from Sandia National Laboratories in the USA,

1:16 Speaker 1: used lab based experiments to simulate asteroid deflection. They fired

1:20 Speaker 1: X ray pulses at small rock samples, mimicking the effects

1:24 Speaker 1: of X rays generated by nuclear explosions in space. Here's

1:27 Speaker 1: how it works. The X rays would heat up the

1:29 Speaker 1: surface of an approaching asteroid, causing some of its material

1:33 Speaker 1: to vaporize. As this vaporized rock expands, it creates a

1:37 Speaker 1: thrust that could alter the asteroid's trajectory, potentially steering it

1:41 Speaker 1: away from Earth. What's particularly exciting about this method is

1:45 Speaker 1: its potential effectiveness on larger asteroids. The researchers estimate that

1:50 Speaker 1: it could work on space rocks up to four kilometers

1:52 Speaker 1: in diameter. That's significantly larger than the asteroid that wiped

1:56 Speaker 1: out the dinosaurs, which was believed to be about ten

1:58 Speaker 1: to fifteen kilometers wide. This X ray deflection method could

2:02 Speaker 1: offer several advantages over other proposed asteroid defense strategies. It's

2:07 Speaker 1: potentially faster and more cost effective than sending a spacecraft

2:10 Speaker 1: to physically impact or redirect an asteroid, as NASA did

2:13 Speaker 1: with its Dark Mission in twenty twenty two. While more

2:16 Speaker 1: research is needed, this study opens up new possibilities for

2:20 Speaker 1: planetary defense, giving us another tool in our arsenal to

2:23 Speaker 1: protect Earth from cosmic collisions. And some good news to

2:27 Speaker 1: report today. In a triumphant return from the Cosmos, NASA

2:31 Speaker 1: astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and her two crewmates have safely

2:34 Speaker 1: touched down on Earth after an incredible one hundred and

2:37 Speaker 1: eighty four day journey in space. The Soyuz MS twenty

2:40 Speaker 1: five spacecraft made a picture perfect landing on the steps

2:43 Speaker 1: of Kazakhstan, bringing an end to a mission that spanned

2:46 Speaker 1: an astonishing seventy eight million miles. Dyson's expedition was nothing

2:50 Speaker 1: short of remarkable, completing nearly three thousand orbits around our

2:53 Speaker 1: blue planet, But the real headline grabber of this mission

2:57 Speaker 1: was her Russian colleague, cosmonaut oleg Cono. He's now etched

3:01 Speaker 1: his name in the history books, setting an all time

3:04 Speaker 1: record with accumulative one one hundred and eleven days in

3:07 Speaker 1: space across five missions. That's more than three years of

3:10 Speaker 1: his life spent floating above the Earth. The crew's return

3:13 Speaker 1: journey began as they undocked from the International Space Station,

3:17 Speaker 1: their home for the past six months. As they plummeted

3:20 Speaker 1: through the atmosphere, their spacecraft was enveloped in a fiery

3:23 Speaker 1: glow before the parachutes deployed, gently lowering them to the ground.

3:28 Speaker 1: This mission exemplifies the ongoing international cooperation in space exploration,

3:34 Speaker 1: with astronauts and cosmonauts working side by side to push

3:38 Speaker 1: the boundaries of human knowledge and endurance in the harsh

3:41 Speaker 1: environment of space and another space station news, NASA and

3:45 Speaker 1: SpaceX are gearing up for an exciting milestone in their

3:48 Speaker 1: ongoing partnership. The Crew nine mission to the International Space

3:52 Speaker 1: Station is set to launch this Thursday, marking a significant

3:56 Speaker 1: first for the space program. What makes this launch particularly

4:00 Speaker 1: noteworthy is its location. For the first time, a crude

4:03 Speaker 1: mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex forty at

4:07 Speaker 1: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This pad was recently certified

4:11 Speaker 1: for human spaceflight after extensive upgrades, including the addition of

4:15 Speaker 1: a crew access arm and tower. The Falcon nine rocket,

4:18 Speaker 1: featuring booster B put on eighty five on its second flight,

4:21 Speaker 1: will carry the crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom. This will

4:25 Speaker 1: be Freedom's fourth trip to space, having previously supported other

4:28 Speaker 1: crude missions. Interestingly, this mission will have a smaller crew

4:32 Speaker 1: than initially planned. Only two astronauts will be on board,

4:36 Speaker 1: NASA's Tyler nick Haig serving as commander and Ross Cosmos

4:40 Speaker 1: cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov as mission specialist. This change accommodates the

4:44 Speaker 1: delayed Boeing Starliner crew test flight. Weather permitting, liftoff is

4:49 Speaker 1: targeted for two h five pm Eastern Time on Thursday. However,

4:52 Speaker 1: a potential tropical storm off the Florida coast might cause delays,

4:56 Speaker 1: so space enthusiasts should stay tuned for updates. Le's turn

5:00 Speaker 1: our attention to Mars. NASA's Perseverance rover has made an

5:03 Speaker 1: intriguing discovery on Mars that's got scientists buzzing with excitement.

5:08 Speaker 1: While exploring the slopes leading to the Jezro Crater rim,

5:11 Speaker 1: the rover spotted a rock unlike any scene before on

5:14 Speaker 1: the red planet. The rock, nicknamed Freya Castle, is about

5:18 Speaker 1: twenty centimeters across and features striking black and white stripes.

5:21 Speaker 1: This unusual pattern has caught the attention of both the

5:24 Speaker 1: science team and space enthusiasts around the world. What makes

5:27 Speaker 1: this discovery particularly interesting is that the rock's texture is

5:32 Speaker 1: completely different from anything previously observed in Jezro Crater, or

5:36 Speaker 1: potentially even on all of Mars. While the exact composition

5:40 Speaker 1: is still unknown, early interpretations suggest that igneous or metamorphic

5:44 Speaker 1: processes might be responsible for creating these distinctive stripes. Interestingly,

5:50 Speaker 1: Freya Castle appears to be a loose stone different from

5:53 Speaker 1: the surrounding bedrock. This suggests it may have rolled down

5:56 Speaker 1: from a higher location, potentially offering a tantalizing gloe of

6:00 Speaker 1: what lies further up the crater Rim. As Perseverance continues

6:04 Speaker 1: its uphill journey, researchers are hopeful they might encounter more

6:07 Speaker 1: rocks like this, or even find the source outcrop. Such

6:10 Speaker 1: a discovery could provide a wealth of new information about

6:13 Speaker 1: Mars geological history and processes. This striped rock is just

6:17 Speaker 1: one of several intriguing finds made by Perseverance as it

6:20 Speaker 1: explores the Crater Rim area. The increasing variety of rock

6:24 Speaker 1: types being observed has scientists speculating about the possibility of

6:28 Speaker 1: encountering ancient rocks uplifted from deep below the surface by

6:32 Speaker 1: the Jezero impact. In other Mars News a celebration if

6:36 Speaker 1: you like. NASA's Maven spacecraft has reached an incredible milestone,

6:40 Speaker 1: celebrating a decade of exploration in Mars's upper atmosphere. Since

6:45 Speaker 1: its arrival on September twenty one, twenty fourteen, Maven has

6:48 Speaker 1: been tirelessly gathering data and making groundbreaking discoveries about the

6:52 Speaker 1: red planet's atmospheric dynamics. One of Maven's key findings has

6:57 Speaker 1: been uncovering how mars atmosphere responds to solar activity. The

7:00 Speaker 1: spacecraft has revealed that solar storms can dramatically increase atmospheric erosion,

7:06 Speaker 1: playing a crucial role in transforming Mars from a potentially

7:09 Speaker 1: habitable world to the cold, arid planet we see today.

7:13 Speaker 1: Maven has also made unexpected discoveries, such as identifying a

7:17 Speaker 1: new type of aurora on Mars. Unlike Earth's auroras, which

7:20 Speaker 1: are primarily caused by electrons, Martian auroras are created by

7:25 Speaker 1: protons and can occur across the entire planet. The mission

7:29 Speaker 1: has provided invaluable insights into Mars's climate history, mapping wind

7:33 Speaker 1: circulation in the upper atmosphere and observing how global dust

7:37 Speaker 1: storms affect atmospheric loss. These findings are helping scientists piece

7:41 Speaker 1: together the puzzle of Mars's dramatic climate change over billions

7:45 Speaker 1: of years. As Maven continues its extended mission, it promises

7:49 Speaker 1: to deliver even more exciting discoveries about our neighboring planet.

7:53 Speaker 1: The wealth of data collected over the past decade has

7:56 Speaker 1: revolutionized our understanding of Mars's atmosphere and its evolution, bringing

8:01 Speaker 1: us closer to unraveling the mysteries of the red planet's

8:04 Speaker 1: past and potential habitability. Have you ever wondered what happens

8:08 Speaker 1: to planet Earth as it travels through space. As we

8:11 Speaker 1: journey through our galaxy, Earth encounters various celestial phenomena, and

8:15 Speaker 1: a recent study has shed light on some fascinating events

8:18 Speaker 1: from our planet's distant past. Researchers have calculated that Earth

8:22 Speaker 1: and our entire Solar system may have passed through two

8:24 Speaker 1: dense interstellar clouds approximately two and seven million years ago.

8:29 Speaker 1: These cosmic encounters could have had significant impacts on our

8:32 Speaker 1: planet's climate. The study suggests that as Earth passed through

8:35 Speaker 1: these dense clouds, they could have compressed our heliosphere, the

8:39 Speaker 1: bubble like region of space influenced by the Sun's magnetic

8:43 Speaker 1: field and solar wind. This compression would have exposed Earth

8:46 Speaker 1: more directly to the interstellar medium. The effects of such

8:49 Speaker 1: an event could be far reaching. Scientists believe it might

8:52 Speaker 1: have led to an increase in hydrogen levels in Earth's

8:55 Speaker 1: upper atmosphere. This excess hydrogen could then have been converted

8:58 Speaker 1: into water molecules in the lower atmosphere, potentially altering our

9:02 Speaker 1: planet's climate. Perhaps most intriguingly, these interstellar cloud encounters may

9:08 Speaker 1: have triggered the formation of global noctilucent clouds in Earth's mesosphere.

9:12 Speaker 1: These high altitude clouds could have blocked a significant amount

9:15 Speaker 1: of sunlight from reaching the surface, potentially plunging our planet

9:18 Speaker 1: into an ice age. While these events occurred millions of

9:21 Speaker 1: years ago, studying them helps us understand the complex interplay

9:26 Speaker 1: between our planet, our solar system, and the larger galaxy

9:29 Speaker 1: we inhabit. It's a reminder of the dynamic nature of

9:33 Speaker 1: our cosmic environment and how events on a galactic scale

9:37 Speaker 1: can influence life on Earth. And that wraps up another

9:42 Speaker 1: exciting episode of Astronomy Daily. From powerful X rays deflecting

9:46 Speaker 1: asteroids to striped Martian rocks and Earth's journey through interstellar clouds.

9:51 Speaker 1: The universe never fails to amaze us with its wonders

9:53 Speaker 1: and mysteries. Before we sign off, I want to remind

9:56 Speaker 1: you that there's so much more to explore in the

9:58 Speaker 1: world of astronomy and space science. If you're hungry for

10:01 Speaker 1: more cosmic content, head over to our website at Astronomydaily

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10:09 Speaker 1: packed with the latest space and astronomy news, perfect for

10:12 Speaker 1: staying on top of all the developments we couldn't fit

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10:24 Speaker 1: And if you're looking to dive deeper into any of

10:27 Speaker 1: the topics we've covered today or in past episodes, our

10:30 Speaker 1: entire archive is available on the website. It's a treasure

10:34 Speaker 1: trove of astronomical knowledge just waiting to be discovered. Don't

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10:51 Speaker 1: Anna and it's been my pleasure to be your guide

10:54 Speaker 1: through the cosmos today. Thank you so much for tuning

10:57 Speaker 1: in to Astronomy Daily, Keep looking up Day Curious, and

11:01 Speaker 1: we'll see you next time for another journey through the stars. Sunday,

11:07 Speaker 1: Star is to Start? Is the Star