S03E210: Supersonic Spacecraft, Cosmic Cannibalism, and Mars' Mysteries

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dose of space and

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

0:06 Speaker 1: an exciting lineup of stories covering everything from supersonic spacecraft

0:10 Speaker 1: to mysterious objects in space. We'll be exploring groundbreaking achievements

0:14 Speaker 1: in aerospace, fascinating discoveries from the far reaches of our

0:17 Speaker 1: Solar system, and intriguing new research that's changing our understanding

0:21 Speaker 1: of the Cosmos. Let's get started. In an exciting development

0:25 Speaker 1: from the aerospace industry, Dawn Aerospace has achieved a remarkable

0:29 Speaker 1: milestone with their MK eleven Aurora spacecraft during a test

0:34 Speaker 1: flight near Mount Cook in New Zealand South Island on

0:36 Speaker 1: November twelfth. The craft successfully broke the sound barrier, reaching

0:41 Speaker 1: mock one point one while climbing to an impressive altitude

0:44 Speaker 1: of eighty two thy five hundred feet that's about twenty

0:47 Speaker 1: five kilometers up. This achievement marks the first time a

0:50 Speaker 1: civil aircraft has reached supersonic speeds since the retirement of

0:54 Speaker 1: the iconic concord, making it a significant moment in aviation history.

0:59 Speaker 1: What makes the Aora particularly special is its innovative design

1:03 Speaker 1: and capabilities. The spacecraft is engineered to perform something that's

1:07 Speaker 1: never been done before, reaching the edge of space twice

1:10 Speaker 1: in a single day. According to Stephan Powell, Dawn Aerospace's

1:15 Speaker 1: chief executive, the Aurora is designed to hit speeds of

1:18 Speaker 1: mock three point five during both ascent and re entry.

1:22 Speaker 1: The company, which maintains headquarters in both the Netherlands and

1:25 Speaker 1: New Zealand, has been methodically testing this latest model over

1:29 Speaker 1: recent months, and these results demonstrate the immense potential of

1:32 Speaker 1: their rocket powered aircraft technology. The Aurora also set another

1:37 Speaker 1: impressive record during its test flight, becoming the fastest aircraft

1:41 Speaker 1: ever to climb from ground level to twenty kilometers. This

1:45 Speaker 1: breakthrough represents a significant step forward in the development of

1:48 Speaker 1: reusable space technology, potentially opening new possibilities for more frequent

1:53 Speaker 1: and efficient access to space. Next up, NASA's James Webb

1:59 Speaker 1: Space Telescope has made another groundbreaking discovery, this time in

2:03 Speaker 1: the Orion nebula, where it has confirmed something that has

2:06 Speaker 1: intrigued astronomers for decades. Scientists have found that some of

2:10 Speaker 1: the protoplanetary disks they've been observing actually surround brown dwarfs,

2:15 Speaker 1: fascinating objects that exist in a cosmic gray area between

2:19 Speaker 1: stars and planets. These brown dwarfs, sometimes called failed stars,

2:25 Speaker 1: lack the mass needed to sustain hydrogen fusion in their cores.

2:28 Speaker 1: Despite being too small to be proper stars, they're still

2:31 Speaker 1: significantly larger than planets. The web Telescope's observations have revealed

2:36 Speaker 1: that these objects are surrounded by disks of gas and dust,

2:40 Speaker 1: similar to the protoplanetary disks we see around young stars.

2:45 Speaker 1: The study focused on several objects in the Orion nebula,

2:48 Speaker 1: which lies about one thoy three hundred light years from Earth.

2:52 Speaker 1: Using webs advanced infrared capabilities, researchers confirmed twenty objects as

2:57 Speaker 1: brown dwarfs, with some having masses as small as five

3:01 Speaker 1: times that of Jupiter. What's particularly exciting is that two

3:04 Speaker 1: of these brown dwarfs were found to have protoplanetary discs

3:08 Speaker 1: that were previously spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope. This

3:12 Speaker 1: discovery is reshaping our understanding of how these cosmic objects

3:16 Speaker 1: form and evolve. The presence of these disks suggests that

3:20 Speaker 1: brown dwarfs might form in a similar way to stars,

3:23 Speaker 1: and could potentially host their own planetary systems. The findings

3:27 Speaker 1: are especially significant because they represent some of the coolest

3:30 Speaker 1: and least massive protoplanetary discs ever detected. These observations have

3:35 Speaker 1: only scratched the surface of what we might learn about

3:38 Speaker 1: brown dwarfs in the Orion nebula, With hundreds more potential

3:42 Speaker 1: brown dwarfs waiting to be studied, Web's continued observations could

3:46 Speaker 1: help us better understand these mysterious objects and their relationship

3:50 Speaker 1: to both stars and planets. China made waves at their

3:54 Speaker 1: International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition last week with the announcement

3:59 Speaker 1: of their new so how long spacecraft that's Chinese for dragon.

4:04 Speaker 1: This reusable cargo shuttle has officially entered the engineering phase

4:08 Speaker 1: and represents a significant step forward in China's space capabilities.

4:12 Speaker 1: The how Long is notably compact compared to NASA's retired

4:15 Speaker 1: Space Shuttle, measuring just ten meters in length with an

4:18 Speaker 1: eight meter wingspan. But don't let its smaller size fool you.

4:22 Speaker 1: This autonomous spacecraft is packed with cutting edge aviation technologies

4:26 Speaker 1: and has been specifically designed to provide vital logistical support

4:30 Speaker 1: for China's Tiangong space station. According to chief designer Fang Yuanping,

4:34 Speaker 1: the how Long will launch into orbit aboard a commercial

4:37 Speaker 1: rocket Once in space, it will deploy solar panels and

4:40 Speaker 1: dock with Tiangong, allowing Tai kannots to access its cargo bay.

4:44 Speaker 1: After completing its mission, it will make an atmospheric re

4:47 Speaker 1: entry and land horizontally on a runway, much like an aircraft.

4:51 Speaker 1: The spacecraft can then undergo maintenance and prepare for its

4:54 Speaker 1: next mission. The how Long is one of two winning

4:57 Speaker 1: designs selected by the China Manned Space Agency in their

5:01 Speaker 1: search for low cost commercial cargo spacecraft. This development comes

5:06 Speaker 1: as China's commercial space industry continues to expand rapidly, with

5:10 Speaker 1: market projections suggesting it could reach a value of over

5:13 Speaker 1: three hundred twenty billion dollars by the end of this year.

5:17 Speaker 1: This new cargo shuttle marks another milestone in China's growing

5:20 Speaker 1: space program, demonstrating their commitment to developing sustainable and reusable

5:25 Speaker 1: space technologies that could play a crucial role in their

5:28 Speaker 1: future space exploration plans. Let's get a Mars update. NASA's

5:34 Speaker 1: Curiosity Rover is preparing for an exciting new chapter in

5:37 Speaker 1: its Mars exploration, but not before capturing one final look

5:41 Speaker 1: at an area that's left scientists scratching their heads. The

5:45 Speaker 1: rover recently completed a stunning three hundred and sixty degree

5:48 Speaker 1: panorama of the Gaydees Vallis Channel, an area it's been

5:51 Speaker 1: studying for the past year that's proven to be full

5:54 Speaker 1: of surprises. Perhaps the most intriguing discovery in this region

5:58 Speaker 1: has been a field of pure soulf for stones, something

6:01 Speaker 1: never before seen on Mars. When Curiosity rolled over one

6:05 Speaker 1: of these mysterious rocks, it revealed bright yellow crystals inside.

6:09 Speaker 1: What makes this finding particularly puzzling is that on Earth,

6:13 Speaker 1: sulfur deposits are typically associated with volcanic activity or hot springs,

6:18 Speaker 1: yet scientists haven't found evidence of either in this area

6:21 Speaker 1: of Mount Sharp. The rover is now setting its sights

6:24 Speaker 1: on an intriguing new target, a formation known as the

6:27 Speaker 1: box work. When viewed from orbit, these features look like

6:31 Speaker 1: spider webs stretching across the Martian surface. Scientists believe they

6:35 Speaker 1: formed during Mars's final wet period, when mineral rich water

6:38 Speaker 1: seeped into rock fractures and hardened. As the surrounding rock

6:43 Speaker 1: eroded away, these mineral filled cracks remained, creating the distinctive

6:47 Speaker 1: weblike patterns we see today. This formation is particularly exciting

6:52 Speaker 1: because it spans an impressive area of six to twelve

6:55 Speaker 1: miles and could provide valuable insights into Mars' transition from

6:59 Speaker 1: a wet world to the dry planet we see today.

7:02 Speaker 1: Even more intriguingly, the environment that created these features bears

7:06 Speaker 1: similarities to places where early Earth microbes could have thrived,

7:10 Speaker 1: making it a compelling target for understanding Mars's potential for

7:13 Speaker 1: past life. As Curiosity embarks on this month's long journey

7:18 Speaker 1: to the Boxwork Formation, it leaves behind the Geddy's Vallis

7:21 Speaker 1: Channel with more questions than answers about its sulfur stones

7:24 Speaker 1: and how this channel formed so late in mars climate history.

7:27 Speaker 1: But that's the nature of scientific exploration. Each discovery opens

7:32 Speaker 1: the door to new mysteries waiting to be solved. Speaking

7:35 Speaker 1: of Mars and looking to our future, there a fascinating

7:39 Speaker 1: breakthrough in Mars landing technology has emerged through an unexpected

7:43 Speaker 1: collaboration between NASA and SpaceX, potentially solving what was once

7:48 Speaker 1: thought to be an impossible challenge. Back in two thousand

7:52 Speaker 1: and seven, even NASA's top landing engineers were skeptical about

7:56 Speaker 1: our ability to land human scale missions on Mars. Problem.

8:00 Speaker 1: Mars's atmosphere is too thin to land like we do

8:03 Speaker 1: on Earth, but too thick to use lunar style landing methods.

8:06 Speaker 1: The key challenge has been what engineers call the supersonic

8:09 Speaker 1: transition problem. Any spacecraft heading to Mars arrives at incredibly

8:14 Speaker 1: high speeds and needs to slow down dramatically in just

8:17 Speaker 1: a few minutes. For context, the Perseverance Rover was traveling

8:21 Speaker 1: at a blistering twelve thousand, one hundred miles per hour

8:25 Speaker 1: when it hit the Martian atmosphere. But a solution has

8:28 Speaker 1: emerged from an unlikely source, SpaceX's efforts to land their

8:32 Speaker 1: Falcon nine rocket boosters back on Earth. When SpaceX began

8:36 Speaker 1: testing supersonic retropropulsion firing rockets backward while moving at supersonic speeds,

8:42 Speaker 1: NASA saw an opportunity. The Space Agency partnered with SpaceX

8:46 Speaker 1: to study this technique, and what they discovered was remarkable.

8:50 Speaker 1: Rather than causing instability as feared, firing engines backwards during

8:54 Speaker 1: supersonic flight actually creates a protective bubble around the spacecraft,

8:58 Speaker 1: shielding it from buffeting and excess heating. This discovery has

9:01 Speaker 1: completely changed the outlook for landing large payloads on Mars.

9:06 Speaker 1: While significant challenges remain, such as protecting engines from debris

9:10 Speaker 1: and dealing with Mars's unpredictable weather, this breakthrough has transformed

9:14 Speaker 1: what once seemed impossible into an engineering challenge that can

9:17 Speaker 1: be solved. As one NASA engineer put it, they're essentially

9:21 Speaker 1: doing what Buck Rogers showed us in the nineteen thirties,

9:24 Speaker 1: firing engines backwards while going really fast and time for

9:29 Speaker 1: one more intriguing discovery. Today, in a fascinating new study,

9:32 Speaker 1: astronomers have discovered that up to a third of stars

9:35 Speaker 1: may have devoured some of their own planets. This celestial

9:39 Speaker 1: cannibalism helps explain a long standing mystery about why some

9:43 Speaker 1: stars born from the same cosmic nursery show unexpectedly different

9:47 Speaker 1: chemical compositions. When stars form from the same giant molecular cloud,

9:52 Speaker 1: they should have nearly identical metal content. However, detailed observations

9:56 Speaker 1: have revealed that some sibling stars show pronounced differences in

10:00 Speaker 1: their metallicity, the abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium.

10:04 Speaker 1: The research suggests that these differences arise when stars consume

10:08 Speaker 1: rocky planets that orbit too close to them. These planets

10:11 Speaker 1: rich in metals and other heavy elements effectively pollute their

10:14 Speaker 1: parent stars, leaving behind a distinctive chemical signature that astronomers

10:19 Speaker 1: can now detect. The study focused particularly on ultra short

10:23 Speaker 1: period planets, worlds that orbit extremely close to their stars,

10:28 Speaker 1: completing a circuit in just a few hours. While these

10:31 Speaker 1: planets are rare today, found around only about half a

10:34 Speaker 1: percent of Sun like stars, the evidence suggests they may

10:37 Speaker 1: form much more frequently, but often meet a fiery end.

10:42 Speaker 1: The process can happen in several ways, but the most

10:44 Speaker 1: common appears to be through what scientists call low eccentricity migration,

10:49 Speaker 1: where planets in multiplanet systems gradually spiral inward toward their star.

10:55 Speaker 1: This cosmic dance typically occurs between one hundred million and

10:58 Speaker 1: one billion years after the planetary system forms. This discovery

11:02 Speaker 1: not only helps explain the mysterious metal content differences between

11:06 Speaker 1: sibling stars, but also provides new insights into the dangerous

11:10 Speaker 1: lives of planets that orbit too close to their stars.

11:13 Speaker 1: It seems that in many planetary systems, what we observe

11:16 Speaker 1: today may be just the survivors of a much more

11:18 Speaker 1: crowded early history. That's all for today's episode. Of Astronomy Daily.

11:25 Speaker 1: I'm anna and thank you for joining me on this

11:27 Speaker 1: journey through the latest developments in space science and exploration.

11:32 Speaker 1: From supersonic spacecraft to planet devouring stars. It's been another

11:36 Speaker 1: fascinating day in astronomy. Don't forget to visit our website

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12:01 Speaker 1: x YouTube, Tumblr, and TikTok. Until tomorrow, keep looking up

12:05 Speaker 1: and wondering about the mysteries of our cosmic neighborhood. I'm

12:09 Speaker 1: anna and this has been Astronomy Daily Sunday. Star is

12:15 Speaker 1: the Toll, Star is Star