S03E185: Hunter's Moon Magic, SpaceX's Satellite Surprise, and Lunar Levitations

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to another Astronomy Daily with Steve and Hally. It's

0:03 Speaker 1: the twenty first of October twenty twenty four.

0:08 Speaker 2: The podcast I Mean to Be Your Whole Steve, don't clue.

0:13 Speaker 2: That's right.

0:14 Speaker 1: Another episode underway and we enjoyed a massive hunter's moon

0:17 Speaker 1: this week where I live just north of Sydney in Newcastle,

0:21 Speaker 1: which is on the mid East coast of Australia.

0:26 Speaker 2: The moon was large and gorgeous.

0:28 Speaker 3: And you do love that moon, don't you.

0:30 Speaker 2: Human.

0:30 Speaker 1: Oh and welcome to the studio, Halle. Yes, the moon

0:33 Speaker 1: is very pretty, definitely one of my favorite rocks.

0:36 Speaker 3: I've been perusing the enormous collection of images posted from

0:39 Speaker 3: all over the world.

0:40 Speaker 1: Yes, people have been clicking away all over the place.

0:43 Speaker 3: It's taken over from all the excitement we had from

0:45 Speaker 3: the auroras recently.

0:46 Speaker 1: Yes, is definitely the latest thing in the sky. And

0:49 Speaker 1: there's more to see coming up in the sky, which

0:51 Speaker 1: I'll be talking about later on. So, Halle, what is

0:54 Speaker 1: on the menu today?

0:55 Speaker 3: Well, SpaceX just launched some satellites for a web compatitive.

1:01 Speaker 3: Some people might find that unusual.

1:03 Speaker 1: Well that does sound a bit odd, but I guess

1:05 Speaker 1: business is.

1:05 Speaker 3: Business and I've got a story about a moontrain and

1:08 Speaker 3: robot rovers in development to explore the Moon.

1:11 Speaker 2: Interesting.

1:12 Speaker 1: I know you'll like that one yip brought up my

1:14 Speaker 1: Ellie Helly and you know me all too well.

1:18 Speaker 2: Robots, rovers and the Moon.

1:21 Speaker 3: That's a milkshake made for Steve Alright.

1:23 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, love me, rock me robots and now.

1:25 Speaker 3: Some news bites from the Astronomy Daily newsletter.

1:28 Speaker 2: Sounds good, boss, Let's have it.

1:37 Speaker 3: SpaceX launched twenty spare one web satellite's October twentieth to

1:41 Speaker 3: strengthen the resiliency of French operator you Telsat's rival low

1:44 Speaker 3: Earth orbit broadband network u Tellsats that it had successfully

1:48 Speaker 3: contacted each satellite following liftoff on a Falcon nine rocket

1:51 Speaker 3: at one thirteen am Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

1:56 Speaker 3: You tell Sat spokesperson Katie Dowd said the company now

1:59 Speaker 3: has six hundred and fifty four satellites in orbit for

2:01 Speaker 3: the constellation, which already had enough in low Earth orbit

2:04 Speaker 3: to provide global coverage but has been held up by

2:06 Speaker 3: ground infrastructure delays. Dowd said the operator remains on track

2:11 Speaker 3: to start global services in the spring. The satellites are

2:14 Speaker 3: identical to the rest in one web's first generation constellation,

2:18 Speaker 3: which Airbus, US Space and Defense mostly built at its

2:21 Speaker 3: mass production facility in Merritt Island, Florida. Utelsat, which also

2:26 Speaker 3: operates a fleet of thirty six geostationary satellites, has yet

2:29 Speaker 3: to say when it plans to introduce low Earth orbit

2:31 Speaker 3: spacecraft with improof technology, after opting for a phased next

2:34 Speaker 3: generation constellation deployment strategy. According to Dowd, the company expects

2:39 Speaker 3: to start deorbiting first generation one web satellites in the

2:42 Speaker 3: next couple of years, as its first batch of low

2:44 Speaker 3: Earth orbit spacecraft near the end of their design lives.

2:51 Speaker 3: Remote control robots could help humanity explore the Moon and Mars.

2:56 Speaker 3: Early tests of remotely operating robotics with an eye to

2:59 Speaker 3: employing them on the Moon have been promising. Developments seem

3:03 Speaker 3: to be leading to technologies that enable future Moon rovers

3:05 Speaker 3: being teleoperated from Earth. Teleoperated rovers could soon be working

3:10 Speaker 3: on the Moon with human controllers on Earth manipulating the

3:13 Speaker 3: rover's tools, virtually allowing for greater dexterity when taking samples, digging,

3:17 Speaker 3: or assembling. Researchers from the Robotics Laboratory at the University

3:21 Speaker 3: of Bristol in England have tested their new teleoperation system

3:24 Speaker 3: at the European Space Agency's European Center for Space Applications

3:28 Speaker 3: and Telecommunications at Harwell in Oxfordshire. By controlling a virtual

3:32 Speaker 3: simulation of a rover, they were able to manipulate a

3:35 Speaker 3: robotic arm to dig a sample of pretend lunar regolith,

3:38 Speaker 3: which is called called simulant. The process negates the need

3:41 Speaker 3: for camera feeds, which can lack because of the one

3:44 Speaker 3: point three second time delay between Earth and the Moon.

3:47 Speaker 3: The signals between the tele operators and robotic missions on

3:50 Speaker 3: the Moon could in future be relayed by satellites belonging

3:53 Speaker 3: to ESA's planned Moonlight project. This simulation could help us

3:57 Speaker 3: operate lunar robots remotely from Earth avoid the problem of

4:00 Speaker 3: signal delays, said Bristol's Joe Luca in a statement. The

4:04 Speaker 3: virtual simulation also incorporates haptic interactions. In other words, it

4:10 Speaker 3: gives the user a sense of touch, mimicking the tactile

4:12 Speaker 3: properties of lunar regolith in the Moon's low gravity. This

4:16 Speaker 3: gives teleoperators a greater sense of how much force they

4:19 Speaker 3: have to use to dig into regolith or to lift

4:21 Speaker 3: a sample in a scoop. So far, the haptic interactions

4:25 Speaker 3: have only been included in the virtual versions of basic

4:27 Speaker 3: tasks such as pressing regolth into the ground or dragging

4:30 Speaker 3: a scoop through it, but not yet for more complex tasks.

4:38 Speaker 3: Does a levitating robot train on the Moon sound far fetched?

4:42 Speaker 3: NASA doesn't seem to think so, as the agency has

4:44 Speaker 3: just greenlit further funding for a study looking into the concept.

4:48 Speaker 3: And here's an acronym that you'll enjoy, mister Steve. The project,

4:51 Speaker 3: called Flexible Levitation on a Track or Float, has been

4:55 Speaker 3: moved to Phase two of NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Program,

4:58 Speaker 3: which aims to develop science fiction like projects for future

5:01 Speaker 3: space exploration. The float project could result in materials being

5:06 Speaker 3: transported across the Moon's surface as soon as the twenty thirties.

5:09 Speaker 3: According to the agency, we want to build the first

5:12 Speaker 3: lunar railway system, which will provide reliable, autonomous, and efficient

5:16 Speaker 3: payload transport on the Moon. Project leader Ethan Scaler, a

5:19 Speaker 3: robotics engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote in a

5:22 Speaker 3: NASA blog post. He continued, a durable, long life robotic

5:27 Speaker 3: transport system will be critical to the daily operations of

5:30 Speaker 3: a sustainable lunar base in the twenty thirties. According to

5:33 Speaker 3: NASA's initial design, FLOAT will consist of magnetic robots levitating

5:37 Speaker 3: over a three layer film track to reduce abrasion from

5:40 Speaker 3: dust on the lunar surface. Carts will be mounted on

5:43 Speaker 3: these robots and will move at roughly one mile per

5:45 Speaker 3: hour or one point sixty one kilometers per hour. They

5:49 Speaker 3: could transport roughly one hundred tons or ninety metric tons

5:52 Speaker 3: of material a day to and from NASA's future lunar base.

5:56 Speaker 3: NASA plans to send astronauts back to the Moon as

5:58 Speaker 3: early as twenty twenty six as part of the agency's

6:00 Speaker 3: Artemis mission, and aims to eventually set up a permanent

6:03 Speaker 3: lunar base to aid future space exploration. And that's just

6:10 Speaker 3: a few quick stories from the Astronomy Daily newsletter for today.

6:14 Speaker 3: Back to you, favorite human.

6:25 Speaker 2: Thank you for.

6:26 Speaker 1: Joining us for this Monday edition of Astronomy Daily, where

6:28 Speaker 1: we offer just a few stories from the now famous

6:31 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive in your email

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7:03 Speaker 4: See you there, Astronomy and Space, Space Science and Astronomy.

7:16 Speaker 1: Space technology firm True Anomaly has selected Firefly or Aerospace

7:22 Speaker 1: Alpha Rocket to launch its autonomous Jackal orbital vehicle for

7:27 Speaker 1: a US Space Force Rapid Response demonstration mission. The companies

7:32 Speaker 1: announced on October seven, Hang on, this is a Space

7:35 Speaker 1: Force story, hallie, can you grab the theme for me? There?

7:45 Speaker 4: It is.

7:50 Speaker 1: Space Invisible there.

8:01 Speaker 2: That'll do.

8:06 Speaker 1: That's a better Colorado based True anomally will support the

8:10 Speaker 1: military's Victis Hayes mission, scheduled for twenty twenty five as

8:14 Speaker 1: part of the Tactically Responsive Space or tac RS program.

8:19 Speaker 1: The partnership with Firefly includes provisions for two additional missions,

8:25 Speaker 1: as both companies aim to strengthen their position in the

8:28 Speaker 1: military's rapid response space operations sector. Victus Hayes will test

8:34 Speaker 1: the Space Force's ability to counter orbital threats on short notice.

8:39 Speaker 1: The mission involves a complex choreography between True Anomalies Jackal

8:44 Speaker 1: spacecraft and a separate vehicle from Rocket Lab, which will

8:48 Speaker 1: conduct proximity operations once in orbit. Doesn't that sound ominous?

8:53 Speaker 1: Victus Hayes pushes the boundaries further by requiring a launch

8:57 Speaker 1: within just twenty four hours of receipt an order, which

9:01 Speaker 1: are with operations beginning shortly after the satellites reach orbit.

9:07 Speaker 1: Firefly said in a statement. The mission builds on Firefly's

9:11 Speaker 1: September twenty twenty three launch of a millennium space satellite

9:16 Speaker 1: for Victors Knox TCHRS mission, marking the company's second collaboration

9:23 Speaker 1: with Space Force. Evan Rodgers, True Anomally CEO, praised Firefly's

9:29 Speaker 1: track record, noting their innovation and agility in the rapidly

9:33 Speaker 1: evolving landscape of responsive space launch logistics and space vehicle deployment.

9:39 Speaker 1: Mission preparations will see True Anomaly complete development and testing

9:44 Speaker 1: of its Jackal vehicle at its Denver facility before shipping

9:48 Speaker 1: to Firefly's processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force based California.

9:54 Speaker 1: The payload will remain in hot standby status until the

9:58 Speaker 1: Space Force initiates the twenty five our launch sequence. Once

10:02 Speaker 1: the launch order is given, Firefly must complete payload integration,

10:06 Speaker 1: rocket fueling, and launch operations within the compressed twenty four

10:11 Speaker 1: hour timeframe. Podcast Yes Keensko watchers have enjoyed many stunning

10:26 Speaker 1: astronomical events this year. Twenty twenty four has put on

10:29 Speaker 1: quite a show, including a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse,

10:34 Speaker 1: and coming up in mid October, the Iroonids media Showers

10:38 Speaker 1: will peak, showcasing Medior's direct from Halley's Comet. This year's

10:44 Speaker 1: skywatching peaks with the Aroonids media Shower, showcasing bright media

10:49 Speaker 1: is against the Knight's brighter stars with connections to the

10:53 Speaker 1: famed Halley's Comet itself. Twenty twenty four has been a

10:57 Speaker 1: remarkable year for both amateur and professionals, featuring everything from

11:02 Speaker 1: a total solar eclipse in April to a partial lunar

11:05 Speaker 1: eclipse during September's Harvest Moon. As the end of October approaches,

11:11 Speaker 1: there's more in stall, with Uronid's media showers expecting to

11:15 Speaker 1: light up the pre dawn skies on October twenty and

11:18 Speaker 1: twenty one, weather and moonlight permitting. Of course, the orionids

11:23 Speaker 1: peaking in mid October are celebrated for their vivid and

11:28 Speaker 1: fast moving meteors, making them one of the year's most

11:31 Speaker 1: spectacular medior showers. However, visibility depends heavily on clear skies. Additionally,

11:38 Speaker 1: the light from a waning gibbous moon transitioning from full

11:42 Speaker 1: to last quarter may overshadow the fainter meteors, significantly diminishing

11:48 Speaker 1: the number visible to observers. Irinid meteors appear every year

11:53 Speaker 1: when the Earth travels through the area of space littered

11:56 Speaker 1: with debris from Halley's Comet. Still, a few oroonids should

12:02 Speaker 1: hopefully be viewable in both the northern and southern hemispheres

12:05 Speaker 1: during the hours after midnight through before dawn on the

12:09 Speaker 1: mornings of Sunday, October twenty and Monday October twenty one.

12:15 Speaker 1: The uronids are also framed by some of the brightest

12:18 Speaker 1: stars in the sky, which lend a spectacular backdrop for

12:22 Speaker 1: these showy meteors. Now Here are some viewing tips for

12:25 Speaker 1: the best meteor show experience. Find an area well away

12:29 Speaker 1: from the city or street lights, said Bill Cook, who

12:33 Speaker 1: leads NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the agency's Marshall Space

12:40 Speaker 1: Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Cook suggests that you come

12:44 Speaker 1: prepared with a blanket, lie flat on your back, and

12:47 Speaker 1: look up, taking in as much as the sky as possible,

12:51 Speaker 1: and in less than thirty minutes in the dark, your

12:54 Speaker 1: eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors.

12:58 Speaker 1: It sounds like a good advice to me. Aside from

13:01 Speaker 1: potentially producing spectacular fireballs, the orionids reflect quite a legacy.

13:07 Speaker 1: Their parent comet is one of the most famous of

13:10 Speaker 1: them all, Halley's Comet. Now each time that Halley returns

13:14 Speaker 1: to the Inner Solar System, its nucleus sheds ice and

13:18 Speaker 1: rocky dust into space. These dust grains eventually become orionids

13:23 Speaker 1: in October and the eater acroyds in May if they

13:27 Speaker 1: collide with Earth's atmosphere. Comet Halley takes about seventy six

13:31 Speaker 1: years to orbit the Sun once. The last time Comet

13:35 Speaker 1: Halley was seen by casual observers was in nineteen eighty six,

13:39 Speaker 1: and it will not enter the Inner Solar System again

13:42 Speaker 1: until twenty sixty one. The comet is named for Edmund Halley,

13:47 Speaker 1: who discovered in seventeen oh five that three previous comets

13:51 Speaker 1: seem to return every seventy six years or so, and

13:55 Speaker 1: suggested that these sightings were in fact all the same comet.

14:00 Speaker 1: Comet returned as he predicted, and so it was named

14:04 Speaker 1: in his honor, Halle's Comet. So while it takes another

14:08 Speaker 1: thirty seven years for us to see Halley's comet, the

14:12 Speaker 1: Orionids offer a glimpse of its past. Yes, the Orionids

14:16 Speaker 1: start winding down what has been an eventful current calendar

14:20 Speaker 1: year for skywatchers. There was the total solar eclipse across

14:24 Speaker 1: most of North America on April eighth, the alignment of

14:28 Speaker 1: the Sun, Moon and Earth creating a solar eclipse lasting

14:32 Speaker 1: four minutes and twelve seconds. The Perseeds brought night sky

14:37 Speaker 1: fireworks in August, and the partial lunar eclipse a full

14:42 Speaker 1: supermoon the Harvest moon provided some spectacular images.

14:47 Speaker 2: But wait, there's more.

14:48 Speaker 1: As the advertisement says, other skywatching events to look forward

14:52 Speaker 1: to in the last portion of the year include the

14:56 Speaker 1: Gemnid and the Urcid medior showers in December, so look

15:00 Speaker 1: forward to those. And that's all we have for another

15:07 Speaker 1: episode of Astronomy Daily. Thank you so much for joining us.

15:11 Speaker 3: Again, and don't forget my cousin Anna will be taking

15:14 Speaker 3: you through the week with her regular presentations Tuesday to Saturday.

15:17 Speaker 1: Oh Anna, she is a busy girl.

15:19 Speaker 3: Isn't she. It's a family thing.

15:21 Speaker 1: Well, I'm glad she's working so hard to bring all

15:23 Speaker 1: the stories from our Astronomy Daily newsletter to the podcast.

15:27 Speaker 1: So check it out, why don't you, and you won't

15:29 Speaker 1: miss a thing.

15:30 Speaker 3: That's the plan.

15:31 Speaker 2: Good plan, and.

15:32 Speaker 1: We will catch you again for Monday show next week.

15:35 Speaker 3: See you all bye, podcast, be your whole speed, don't

15:42 Speaker 3: que