S03E186: Meteorite Mysteries, SpaceX's New Milestone, and Zero-G Snacking

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

0:02 Speaker 1: in astronomy news. I'm your host, Anna, and today we've

0:06 Speaker 1: got an exciting lineup of stories covering everything from ancient

0:09 Speaker 1: meteorite impacts to black hole mergers. Let's start today by

0:13 Speaker 1: taking a journey back in time about three point two

0:16 Speaker 1: six billion years ago, to an Earth very different from

0:19 Speaker 1: the one we know today. Picture a violent scene an

0:21 Speaker 1: enormous meteorite up to two hundred times larger than the

0:24 Speaker 1: one that wiped out the dinosaurs, slamming into our planet.

0:27 Speaker 1: You might think this catastrophic event would spell doom for

0:30 Speaker 1: any life trying to gain a foothold on early Earth,

0:33 Speaker 1: But surprisingly, this cosmic collision may have actually given primitive

0:36 Speaker 1: life a boost. Recent research published in the Proceedings of

0:40 Speaker 1: the National Academy of Sciences reveals that this ancient impact

0:44 Speaker 1: created unexpectedly favorable conditions for some early life forms. The

0:49 Speaker 1: study focused on evidence found in the Barberton Greenstone Belt

0:52 Speaker 1: in South Africa, which preserves a remarkable record of at

0:55 Speaker 1: least eight major impacts from this tumultuous period in Earth's history.

1:00 Speaker 1: So how did this cataclysmic event benefit life? While the

1:03 Speaker 1: impact stirred things up in a big way. It caused

1:05 Speaker 1: massive tsunamis that transported iron from the deep ocean to

1:09 Speaker 1: shallower waters. This iron bonanza allowed iron metabolizing bacteria to thrive. Additionally,

1:15 Speaker 1: the meteorite itself brought phosphorus to the party, giving phosphorus

1:18 Speaker 1: loving microbes a chance to flourish as well. While the

1:21 Speaker 1: initial aftermath was undoubtedly devastating, with thick dust clouds likely

1:25 Speaker 1: shutting down photosynthesis temporarily, life rebounded quickly. This research challenges

1:31 Speaker 1: our assumptions about the relationship between cosmic impacts and the

1:34 Speaker 1: evolution of life, suggesting that these violent events might have

1:37 Speaker 1: played a crucial role in shaping Earth's earliest ecosystems. Next,

1:43 Speaker 1: let's turn our attention to this week's launch schedules. This

1:46 Speaker 1: week is shaping up to be another busy one for

1:48 Speaker 1: space launches, with multiple missions on the docket from various

1:51 Speaker 1: launch providers around the world. SpaceX continues its rapid fire

1:55 Speaker 1: pace of Starlink deployments with another batch of Internet satellites

1:58 Speaker 1: set to launch from Cape Canal. This mission will further

2:01 Speaker 1: expand the company's growing constellation, bringing high speed Internet to

2:05 Speaker 1: more remote areas across the globe. But SpaceX isn't stopping there.

2:09 Speaker 1: They're also gearing up for a classified mission for the

2:12 Speaker 1: National Reconnaissance Office later in the week. This launch, code

2:15 Speaker 1: named NROL one hundred and sixty seven, will lift off

2:18 Speaker 1: from Vandenberg Space Force Space in California. If schedules hold,

2:22 Speaker 1: this could mark SpaceX's four hundredth orbital launch, an incredible

2:25 Speaker 1: milestone for the company. Meanwhile, China is maintaining its own

2:29 Speaker 1: ambitious launch tempo. Two missions are planned this week, using

2:32 Speaker 1: different variants of their long March rockets. While details are scarce,

2:36 Speaker 1: as is often the case with Chinese launches, these missions

2:39 Speaker 1: demonstrate China's continued push to expand its presence in space.

2:43 Speaker 1: Blue Origin is making another attempt at an uncrude test

2:46 Speaker 1: flight of its new Shepherd vehicle. This launch will debut

2:49 Speaker 1: a new crew capsule named RSS Carmen Line and a

2:52 Speaker 1: new booster. The flight will carry various scientific payloads and

2:55 Speaker 1: test new technologies for future lunar missions. Over in Japan,

2:59 Speaker 1: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is preparing to launch its H three

3:02 Speaker 1: rocket carrying a military communication satellite for the Japanese government.

3:06 Speaker 1: This will be only the fourth flight of Japan's new

3:08 Speaker 1: flagship launcher. It's worth noting that all of these launches

3:11 Speaker 1: are subject to changes due to weather or technical issues. However,

3:15 Speaker 1: the packed schedule highlights the growing commercial and government activity

3:18 Speaker 1: in space. As we see more frequent launches from a

3:21 Speaker 1: diverse set of providers and nations, it's clear that access

3:24 Speaker 1: to space is becoming increasingly routine. This is opening up

3:28 Speaker 1: new possibilities for scientific research, earth observation and space exploration.

3:34 Speaker 1: Moving on, new analysis of samples from asteroid Reyugu has

3:37 Speaker 1: once again surprised scientists, challenging our previous understanding of how

3:42 Speaker 1: carbon rich asteroids form. When Japan's Hyabusa two mission brought

3:46 Speaker 1: back samples from Reyugu four years ago, researchers initially thought

3:49 Speaker 1: the asteroid had formed beyond Saturn's orbit. However, a recent

3:54 Speaker 1: study published in Science Advances suggests that Ryugu may have

3:58 Speaker 1: actually formed much closer to home, near Jupiter. Scientists at

4:02 Speaker 1: the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany

4:06 Speaker 1: compared the types of nickel found in Ryugu samples to

4:09 Speaker 1: those in typical carbon rich meteorites. Their findings indicate that

4:14 Speaker 1: different carbon rich asteroids may have formed in the same

4:16 Speaker 1: region near Jupiter, but through varying processes and about two

4:20 Speaker 1: million years apart. This discovery has significant implications for our

4:24 Speaker 1: understanding of the early Solar system. It suggests that the

4:28 Speaker 1: formation of carbonaceous chondrites, a class of meteorites to which

4:31 Speaker 1: Ryugu belongs, may be more complex than previously thought. The

4:35 Speaker 1: researchers propose that the first carbonaceous chondrites began to form

4:39 Speaker 1: around two million years after the formation of our solar system,

4:42 Speaker 1: accumulating material as they traveled inward towards the Sun. Interestingly,

4:48 Speaker 1: this new theory also provides a potential solution to the

4:51 Speaker 1: long standing mystery of y ci chondrites, a rare subgroup

4:56 Speaker 1: to which Ryugu is closely related, have a different composition

4:59 Speaker 1: from others carbonaceous chondrites. The study suggests that cichondrites may

5:04 Speaker 1: have formed later, under different conditions, but in the same

5:07 Speaker 1: region near Jupiter. This research demonstrates how crucial laboratory investigations

5:12 Speaker 1: of space samples can be in deciphering the formation history

5:14 Speaker 1: of our Solar system. It's a reminder that even as

5:17 Speaker 1: we explore further into space, sometimes the most significant discoveries

5:22 Speaker 1: come from studying the tiny grains of rock we bring

5:24 Speaker 1: back to Earth. Now, let's delve into the fascinating and

5:28 Speaker 1: violent process of black hole mergers. These cosmic collisions are

5:32 Speaker 1: some of the most energetic events in the universe, and

5:35 Speaker 1: they're helping us understand the fundamental nature of space and time.

5:38 Speaker 1: The journey begins with two black holes orbiting each other

5:41 Speaker 1: at a great distance. They might have started as a

5:44 Speaker 1: pair of massive stars or randomly encountered each other in

5:46 Speaker 1: the vastness of space. For these giants to merge, they

5:50 Speaker 1: need to get much closer, which means shedding a lot

5:52 Speaker 1: of orbital energy. At first, this energy loss happens through

5:55 Speaker 1: interactions with their environment nearby gas, dust, or even stars.

6:00 Speaker 1: As they get closer, the real show begins. The black

6:02 Speaker 1: holes start to stir up space time itself, releasing gravitational

6:06 Speaker 1: waves that ripple outward like ripples in a pond. In

6:10 Speaker 1: the final moments before merger, things get really wild. The

6:14 Speaker 1: black holes event horizons, those points of no return, begin

6:17 Speaker 1: to stretch and deform. They reach out to each other

6:20 Speaker 1: with thin tendrils, forming a bridge between the two. It's

6:23 Speaker 1: like watching two soap bubbles collide and merge in slow motion,

6:27 Speaker 1: except this is happening on a cosmic scale. The actual

6:30 Speaker 1: merger happens in the blink of an eye. The two

6:32 Speaker 1: become one, but not without consequences. A significant portion of

6:36 Speaker 1: their combined mass, usually around five percent, gets converted directly

6:41 Speaker 1: into energy in the form of gravitational waves. To put

6:44 Speaker 1: that in perspective, it's like turning three entire suns into

6:48 Speaker 1: pure energy in an instant. This release of energy is

6:51 Speaker 1: more powerful than all the stars in the observable universe combined.

6:56 Speaker 1: Yet it happens in complete silence and darkness, detectable only

7:00 Speaker 1: through the subtle ripples in space time that eventually reach

7:04 Speaker 1: our gravitational wave detectors here on Earth. These mergers are

7:09 Speaker 1: giving us unprecedented insights into the nature of gravity, space time,

7:13 Speaker 1: and the evolution of the universe. Each detection helps us

7:17 Speaker 1: refine our understanding of these cosmic behemoths and the fundamental

7:21 Speaker 1: laws that govern our universe. And now for a lighter

7:25 Speaker 1: story that's sure to make you smile. It seems nowhere

7:27 Speaker 1: is safe from advertising. This week, Dorito's are debuting the

7:31 Speaker 1: first ever commercial filmed in space. As you may remember, Dorito's,

7:35 Speaker 1: the beloved snack chip, recently made its way to space

7:38 Speaker 1: on a private astronaut mission, and now we have the

7:40 Speaker 1: follow up commercial filmed with astronauts biting down on these

7:43 Speaker 1: special snacks. But eating chips in zero gravity isn't as

7:46 Speaker 1: simple as you might think. For decades, chips were on

7:49 Speaker 1: the no fly list for space missions due to the

7:52 Speaker 1: risk of crumbs floating around and potentially causing issues with

7:56 Speaker 1: equipment or the astronauts themselves. But Freedom Lay fo a

8:00 Speaker 1: way to bring doritos to orbit safely. The company created

8:03 Speaker 1: a special zero gravity cool ranch flavor, using oil based

8:06 Speaker 1: seasoning instead of the usual powdery coating to minimize mess.

8:10 Speaker 1: They also packaged the chips in individual canisters to protect

8:13 Speaker 1: them during launch. Astronauts c and Proctor describe the experience,

8:17 Speaker 1: saying the chips held up incredibly well and tasted great.

8:20 Speaker 1: The bite sized mini versions were perfect for snacking in

8:23 Speaker 1: space without creating a cloud of crumbs. This tasty experiment

8:26 Speaker 1: wasn't just about commercials and snacking, though. Frido Lay used

8:30 Speaker 1: the opportunity to raise funds for Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital,

8:34 Speaker 1: allowing space enthusiasts on Earth to get their hands on

8:36 Speaker 1: some of these special chips in exchange for donations. It

8:40 Speaker 1: just goes to show that even in the vastness of space,

8:43 Speaker 1: we can still find ways to enjoy our favorite Earth

8:45 Speaker 1: treats with a little creative problem solving, of course. And

8:51 Speaker 1: that wraps up today's journey through the cosmos. From ancient

8:55 Speaker 1: meteorite impacts to cutting edge space snacks, We've covered a

8:58 Speaker 1: lot of ground, or should I say a lot of space.

9:02 Speaker 1: I'm Anna, and you've been listening to Astronomy Daily. For

9:05 Speaker 1: more out of this world news, be sure to visit

9:07 Speaker 1: our website at Astronomy Daily dot io. There you can

9:10 Speaker 1: sign up for our free daily newsletter, catch up on

9:13 Speaker 1: all the latest space and astronomy news with our constantly

9:15 Speaker 1: updating news feed, and listen to all our back episodes.

9:19 Speaker 1: Don't forget to follow us on social media too, Just

9:22 Speaker 1: search for astro Daily Pod on Facebook, x, YouTube and TikTok.

9:26 Speaker 1: Until our next cosmic adventure, keep looking up and stay

9:29 Speaker 1: curious about the wonders of our universe. This is Anna

9:33 Speaker 1: signing Offiday Star Starz