S03E200: Martian Water Mysteries, Starship's Next Leap, and Venus's Ancient Crater

0:00 Speaker 1: Hello, space enthusiasts. Today's Cosmic Journey takes us on an

0:03 Speaker 1: incredible adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We've got

0:07 Speaker 1: an amazing lineup of stories that showcase humanity's ongoing quest

0:10 Speaker 1: to understand the universe around us, From groundbreaking discoveries about

0:14 Speaker 1: ancient water flows on Mars to SpaceX's latest plans for Starship,

0:18 Speaker 1: we'll explore how our understanding of space continues to evolve.

0:22 Speaker 1: We'll also dive into fascinating new research from the James

0:25 Speaker 1: Webb Space Telescope that's bringing us closer to potentially finding

0:29 Speaker 1: life beyond Earth, and uncover a massive ancient crater on

0:32 Speaker 1: Venus that's rewriting what we know about our sister planet.

0:37 Speaker 1: Stay with me as we explore these captivating developments in

0:40 Speaker 1: space exploration and astronomical research. There's so much to discover.

0:44 Speaker 1: In today's episode of Astronomy Daily. Scientists have made a

0:48 Speaker 1: fascinating breakthrough in understanding how water once flowed on ancient Mars,

0:52 Speaker 1: solving a puzzle that has intrigued researchers for decades. New

0:56 Speaker 1: research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets reveals

1:00 Speaker 1: how sheets of carbon dioxide ice played a crucial role

1:03 Speaker 1: in protecting rivers of water on Mars more than three

1:06 Speaker 1: billion years ago. The study shows that around three point

1:09 Speaker 1: six billion years ago, carbon dioxide from Mars's atmosphere froze,

1:14 Speaker 1: creating a thick layer of ice that sat on top

1:17 Speaker 1: of water ice sheets at the poles. This carbon dioxide

1:20 Speaker 1: ice layer acted like a natural insulator, trapping heat from

1:24 Speaker 1: Mars's still active interior. The trapped heat caused about half

1:28 Speaker 1: of the water ice beneath to melt, allowing it to

1:31 Speaker 1: flow across the red planet's ancient surface. What makes this

1:35 Speaker 1: discovery particularly significant is that it explains how Mars could

1:39 Speaker 1: have had flowing water during a period when the planet

1:43 Speaker 1: was generally cold and icy. The research team found that

1:46 Speaker 1: a six hundred and fifty meter thick layer of carbon

1:49 Speaker 1: dioxide ice covered a massive four kilometer thick layer of

1:53 Speaker 1: water ice. As this water melted, it saturated the Martian

1:57 Speaker 1: crust underneath the carbon dioxide cap, creating a complex system

2:02 Speaker 1: of subglacial rivers. These ancient rivers left behind distinctive ridge

2:06 Speaker 1: formations called eskers, which can still be seen near Mars's

2:09 Speaker 1: south pole today. The water eventually collected in what we

2:12 Speaker 1: now call the Argeyre Basin, an area comparable in size

2:16 Speaker 1: to the Mediterranean Sea before overflowing into the Martian northern Plains.

2:20 Speaker 1: This new model is particularly exciting because it explains these

2:23 Speaker 1: geological features without requiring any mysterious global warming events. Instead,

2:30 Speaker 1: it relies on processes we can observe on Mars even today,

2:33 Speaker 1: where carbon dioxide continues to play a crucial role in

2:36 Speaker 1: the planet's atmospheric system. The research suggests that this process

2:41 Speaker 1: may have created a pole to equator hydrologic cycle, where

2:45 Speaker 1: water would sublimate back into the atmosphere before returning to

2:48 Speaker 1: the south polar cap, creating a continuous cycle of water

2:51 Speaker 1: movement across the planet's surface. SpaceX is gearing up for

2:55 Speaker 1: its next ambitious starship test flight, scheduled for mid November,

3:00 Speaker 1: marking a remarkably quick turnaround of just over five weeks

3:03 Speaker 1: since their previous launch, and yes, the plan is to

3:06 Speaker 1: use the chopsticks again. The company has announced several exciting

3:10 Speaker 1: modifications and improvements for this upcoming mission, demonstrating their commitment

3:14 Speaker 1: to rapid iteration and development. The flight will follow a

3:17 Speaker 1: similar suborbital trajectory to October's test, but with some notable enhancements.

3:22 Speaker 1: One of the most interesting additions is a planned Raptor

3:25 Speaker 1: engine RELIGHTE demonstration during Starship's flight. This crucial test will

3:30 Speaker 1: verify the spacecraft's ability to perform deorbit burns during future

3:33 Speaker 1: orbital missions, a capability that's essential for controlled re entry.

3:38 Speaker 1: The team is also implementing fascinating changes to the thermal

3:41 Speaker 1: protection system. They'll be testing new secondary thermal protection materials,

3:45 Speaker 1: and intriguingly, will have entire sections of heat shield tiles

3:49 Speaker 1: removed from both sides of the ship. These modifications are

3:53 Speaker 1: part of SpaceX's research into future catch enabling hardware as

3:56 Speaker 1: they work toward their goal of recovering Starship using the

3:59 Speaker 1: same law launch tower catch technique planned for the Super

4:02 Speaker 1: Heavy Booster. To better observe the spacecraft's performance during re entry,

4:07 Speaker 1: SpaceX has shifted the launch window to the afternoon, ensuring

4:11 Speaker 1: daylight conditions for Starships splashed down in the Indian Ocean.

4:15 Speaker 1: The vehicle will also fly at a higher angle of

4:18 Speaker 1: attack during its final descent, purposefully pushing the limits of

4:22 Speaker 1: flap control to gather valuable data for future landing profiles.

4:27 Speaker 1: The Super Heavy Booster hasn't been neglected either engineers have

4:30 Speaker 1: incorporated additional redundancy in its propulsion system, strengthened key structural areas,

4:36 Speaker 1: and improved the post landing propellant removal process. They've also

4:40 Speaker 1: refined the software controls and commit criteria for the booster's

4:44 Speaker 1: launch and return sequence, addressing lessons learned from their previous flight,

4:48 Speaker 1: where they came within one second of aborting the catch

4:51 Speaker 1: attempt due to a misconfigured parameter. These incremental improvements demonstrate

4:56 Speaker 1: SpaceX's methodical approach to developing what aims to be the

4:59 Speaker 1: world it's most powerful and fully reusable launch system, bringing

5:03 Speaker 1: us one step closer to their vision of regular, reliable

5:07 Speaker 1: access to deep space. Virgin Galactic has just announced ambitious

5:12 Speaker 1: plans to accelerate their growth in the space tourism sector,

5:15 Speaker 1: seeking to raise three hundred million dollars in additional capital.

5:19 Speaker 1: This investment would fast track the production of their suborbital

5:22 Speaker 1: space planes and mothership aircraft, marking a significant expansion of

5:26 Speaker 1: their commercial operations. The company's current timeline has their first

5:30 Speaker 1: two Delta class space planes on schedule for commercial flights

5:33 Speaker 1: starting in twenty twenty six. However, rather than waiting to

5:37 Speaker 1: fund future vehicles through operational revenue, they're seizing an opportunity

5:41 Speaker 1: to scale up more quickly. This new capital would enable

5:44 Speaker 1: them to add two more Delta class vehicles and a

5:47 Speaker 1: second mothership to their fleet, bringing them into service by

5:50 Speaker 1: twenty twenty eight, two years ahead of their original schedule.

5:54 Speaker 1: This expansion could be transformative for Virgin Galactic's operations at

5:58 Speaker 1: Spaceport America in New mec Xico. With four space planes

6:02 Speaker 1: and two motherships, they'd achieve what they're calling a fully

6:05 Speaker 1: utilized spaceport. The economics are particularly compelling. Doubling their spacecraft

6:11 Speaker 1: fleet would not just double their revenue, but potentially quadruple

6:15 Speaker 1: their earnings as fixed costs would be spread across more flights.

6:19 Speaker 1: What's particularly interesting is their approach to building the second mothership.

6:24 Speaker 1: Unlike their previous arrangement with Aurora Flight Sciences, Virgin Galactic

6:29 Speaker 1: plans to handle this internally. They'll leverage their existing engineering

6:34 Speaker 1: and production teams as they transition off the initial Delta

6:37 Speaker 1: class development, maintaining their workforce while expanding their capabilities. The

6:43 Speaker 1: company appears confident in their strategy, with their existing cash

6:47 Speaker 1: reserves sufficient to bring the first two Delta class vehicles

6:50 Speaker 1: into service. This gives them flexibility in timing for raising

6:54 Speaker 1: the additional capital while still maintaining their path toward positive

6:58 Speaker 1: cash flow once those initial vehicles are operational. This move

7:02 Speaker 1: represents a bold step forward in Virgin Galactic's vision of

7:05 Speaker 1: making space tourism more accessible, potentially paving the way for

7:09 Speaker 1: multiple space ports globally as they scale their operations to

7:12 Speaker 1: meet growing demand for commercial spaceflight experiences. Moving on to

7:17 Speaker 1: a JWST update, the James Webb Space Telescope continues to

7:21 Speaker 1: revolutionize our search for life beyond Earth, particularly when it

7:25 Speaker 1: comes to studying potentially habitable exoplanets. New research suggests that

7:29 Speaker 1: WEB could be instrumental in confirming the presence of life

7:32 Speaker 1: supporting atmospheres on planets orbiting m dwarf stars, the most

7:36 Speaker 1: common type of star in our universe. Take Trappist One,

7:40 Speaker 1: for instance, a remarkable star system just forty light years away.

7:43 Speaker 1: While previous studies raised concerns about the habitability of its

7:46 Speaker 1: planets due to intense UV radiation potentially burning away their

7:50 Speaker 1: surface water, recent findings pain a more optimistic picture. Scientists

7:55 Speaker 1: at the University of Washington have discovered that certain processes

7:58 Speaker 1: in rocky planets orbiting MDWARF could actually lead to the

8:01 Speaker 1: formation of stable atmospheres over time. The research shows a

8:05 Speaker 1: fascinating evolution of these planets during their formation. While still molten,

8:10 Speaker 1: hydrogen and other light gases initially escape into space. However,

8:14 Speaker 1: on planets at the right distance from their star in

8:17 Speaker 1: the Goldilocks zone, something remarkable happens. The hydrogen reacts with

8:22 Speaker 1: oxygen and iron in the planet's interior, producing water and

8:25 Speaker 1: heavier gases that form a stable atmosphere. Web's early observations

8:30 Speaker 1: have already provided some clarity about the hottest rocky planets

8:34 Speaker 1: closest to Trappist one, confirming they lack significant atmospheres. But

8:39 Speaker 1: the real excitement lies in the telescope's upcoming observations of

8:43 Speaker 1: planets in the habitable zone, where temperatures might be just

8:47 Speaker 1: right for liquid water to exist on the surface. This

8:50 Speaker 1: is particularly significant because with current technology we can only

8:54 Speaker 1: study a very small number of potentially habitable rocky planets atmospheres.

9:00 Speaker 1: Trappist one's planets represent some of our best candidates for

9:03 Speaker 1: finding conditions that could support life. If these planets do

9:06 Speaker 1: maintain stable atmospheres, they could harbour surface liquid water and

9:10 Speaker 1: temperate climates key ingredients in our search for life beyond Earth.

9:14 Speaker 1: These findings give us compelling reasons to continue investing telescope

9:18 Speaker 1: time in studying these systems, rather than waiting for future

9:21 Speaker 1: generations of more powerful telescopes. Each observation brings us closer

9:26 Speaker 1: to potentially answering one of humanity's most profound questions. Are

9:30 Speaker 1: we alone in the universe? Some news from Venus Now.

9:35 Speaker 1: In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have identified what could be

9:39 Speaker 1: the oldest and largest impact crater ever found on Venus,

9:43 Speaker 1: offering unprecedented insights into our sister planet's ancient history. The

9:48 Speaker 1: massive structure, spanning an impressive one thousand, five hundred kilometers

9:52 Speaker 1: across about nine hundred miles, was found while mapping some

9:55 Speaker 1: of Venus's oldest terrain features. The discovery was made in

9:59 Speaker 1: an air known as Haste bad Tessera, part of Venus's

10:03 Speaker 1: mysterious to Sera regions. These highly disrupted and deformed terrains

10:07 Speaker 1: cover about ten percent of the planet's surface and are

10:10 Speaker 1: believed to be at least one point five billion years old.

10:13 Speaker 1: What makes this find particularly intriguing is that it's more

10:16 Speaker 1: than five times larger than any other known crater on Venus.

10:20 Speaker 1: The structure's unique appearance caught researcher's attention immediately, featuring distinct, circular,

10:26 Speaker 1: multi ringed patterns unlike anything previously observed on rocky planets. Interestingly,

10:31 Speaker 1: the key to understanding this formation came from an unexpected source,

10:35 Speaker 1: Jupiter's icy moons. Similar patterns found on Callisto and Europa

10:40 Speaker 1: helped scientists piece together how this massive Venusian crater might

10:44 Speaker 1: have formed. The formation scenario reads like a cosmic detective story.

10:49 Speaker 1: Scientists believe it took not one, but two major impacts

10:53 Speaker 1: to create this extraordinary feature. The first impact produced the

10:56 Speaker 1: surrounding terrain, leaving a thin crust over a pool of

10:59 Speaker 1: moreton rock. Then, while this area was still hot and fluid,

11:04 Speaker 1: a second object struck the same location, creating the distinctive

11:07 Speaker 1: multi ring structure we see today. This double impact theory

11:12 Speaker 1: might seem improbable, but in Venus's early days, large objects

11:16 Speaker 1: regularly careened through our solar system. The initial impact site

11:20 Speaker 1: would have remained hot for millions of years, providing ample

11:23 Speaker 1: opportunity for a second strike. This discovery is particularly valuable

11:27 Speaker 1: because while Venus has roughly one thousand known impact craters,

11:31 Speaker 1: none can be dated back to the Solar System's first

11:34 Speaker 1: two point five billion years until possibly now. The finding

11:38 Speaker 1: provides crucial new information about Venus's early history and has

11:42 Speaker 1: become a priority target for future Venus missions. It's helping

11:46 Speaker 1: scientists better understand not only the planet's ancient past, but

11:49 Speaker 1: also how such massive impacts shaped the early Solar System. Finally, today,

11:55 Speaker 1: something on a lighter note for fans of space documentaries

11:58 Speaker 1: and UFO enthusiasts, elat like Netflix's latest Argentinian film, The

12:02 Speaker 1: Man Who Loved UFOs, offers a fascinating look at how

12:06 Speaker 1: UFO hysteria can capture public imagination and spawn viral phenomena,

12:11 Speaker 1: even in the pre Internet era of the nineteen eighties.

12:14 Speaker 1: This satirical film tells the true story of Jose Desire,

12:18 Speaker 1: a television journalist who transformed a simple countryside investigation into

12:22 Speaker 1: one of Argentina's most notorious UFO incidents. In nineteen eighty six,

12:28 Speaker 1: Desser traveled to a remote village to investigate reports of

12:31 Speaker 1: strange lights and mysterious burn marks on a hillside. What

12:35 Speaker 1: began as a routine assignment soon evolved into something far

12:38 Speaker 1: more complex. Rather than debunking the sighting, desser saw an opportunity.

12:43 Speaker 1: Working with local mining company owners who hoped to boost tourism,

12:46 Speaker 1: he orchestrated what would become the most widely recognized UFO

12:50 Speaker 1: footage in Argentine television history. The film expertly chronicles how

12:55 Speaker 1: Dessurre and his cameraman manufactured evidence, coached witnesses, and create

13:00 Speaker 1: an entire mythology around these supposed extraterrestrial visits. The production

13:05 Speaker 1: delves deep into the mechanics of how misinformation spreads, showing

13:10 Speaker 1: how economic pressures, media ratings, and public appetite for sensational

13:13 Speaker 1: stories can combine to create a perfect storm of manufactured truth.

13:18 Speaker 1: As deserves fabricated story gains momentum, we witness the toll

13:22 Speaker 1: it takes on its creator, exploring the psychological impact of

13:26 Speaker 1: maintaining such an elaborate deception. While the film's English dubbing

13:30 Speaker 1: may leave something to be desired, its underlying message about

13:33 Speaker 1: the nature of belief, media manipulation, and our eternal fascination

13:38 Speaker 1: with the unknown remains powerfully relevant in today's era of

13:41 Speaker 1: viral content and instant news. The Man Who Loved UFOs

13:46 Speaker 1: is screening now on Netflix. And well worth a look

13:48 Speaker 1: if you're at all interested in UFOs and the hysteria

13:51 Speaker 1: surrounding them. And that wraps up another fascinating episode of

13:56 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily. From ancient Martian rivers protected by sheets of

14:00 Speaker 1: carbon dioxide ice to SpaceX's upcoming Starship launch. From groundbreaking

14:05 Speaker 1: discoveries by the web Telescope to mysterious ancient craters on Venus,

14:10 Speaker 1: We've covered quite a journey through space today. I'm Anna,

14:14 Speaker 1: and I want to thank you for joining me on

14:15 Speaker 1: this cosmic adventure. If you're hungry for more space news,

14:19 Speaker 1: head over to Astronomydaily dot io, where you can find

14:22 Speaker 1: our constantly updating newsfeed and listen to all our previous episodes.

14:27 Speaker 1: Don't forget to join our growing community of space enthusiasts

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14:38 Speaker 1: up and I'll see you tomorrow for another exciting edition

14:40 Speaker 1: of Astronomy Dailyday star s The story is to tell