S03E213: Supernova Spectacle, Lunar Alliances, and Canada's Rover Naming Quest

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to today's edition of Astronomy Daily. My name is Anna,

0:04 Speaker 1: and today we have an absolutely fascinating lineup of stories

0:07 Speaker 1: from across the cosmos, from a groundbreaking image of a

0:10 Speaker 1: star on the brink of going supernova to major developments

0:13 Speaker 1: in lunar exploration. We're covering some incredible advances in space

0:17 Speaker 1: science and exploration. We'll take you on a journey to

0:20 Speaker 1: witness the death throes of a massive star in a

0:23 Speaker 1: neighboring galaxy, Explore new partnerships between space agencies that are

0:27 Speaker 1: pushing the boundaries of exploration, and get the latest updates

0:31 Speaker 1: on SpaceX's ambitious plans for their starship program. We'll also

0:35 Speaker 1: hear about Canada's search for the perfect name for their

0:38 Speaker 1: first Moon rover, discover the youngest exoplanet ever found using

0:42 Speaker 1: the transit method, and look at the detailed preparations being

0:46 Speaker 1: made to ensure astronauts safety on future Artemis missions to

0:50 Speaker 1: the lunar surface. Let's get started. In a remarkable breakthrough,

0:55 Speaker 1: astronomers have captured the first ever close up image of

0:58 Speaker 1: a star in its final stages of life outside our galaxy,

1:02 Speaker 1: located in the large Magellanic Cloud, approximately one hundred and

1:06 Speaker 1: sixty thousand light years from Earth, The star known as

1:09 Speaker 1: WHG sixty four is providing us with an unprecedented view

1:12 Speaker 1: of the dramatic end stages of a massive star's life.

1:16 Speaker 1: The image, though somewhat fuzzy, reveals something truly extraordinary, a

1:21 Speaker 1: glowing egg shaped cocoon of gas and dust surrounding the

1:25 Speaker 1: dying star, along with a faint oval ring extending beyond it.

1:30 Speaker 1: This nebula formation appears to have been ejected by the

1:33 Speaker 1: star itself as it approaches its inevitable explosive finale as

1:37 Speaker 1: a supernova. Before beginning this process of shedding its outer layers,

1:42 Speaker 1: WHG sixty four was estimated to be between twenty five

1:45 Speaker 1: to forty times more massive than our Sun. To put

1:48 Speaker 1: its current size into perspective, if we were to place

1:51 Speaker 1: this stellar giant at the center of our Solar system,

1:54 Speaker 1: it would extend all the way out to Saturn's orbit.

1:57 Speaker 1: That's an absolutely massive star going through its final metamorphosis.

2:03 Speaker 1: What makes this observation particularly exciting is that astronomers have

2:07 Speaker 1: noticed significant changes in the star's appearance over just the

2:10 Speaker 1: past decade. It's becoming progressively dimmer as it wraps itself

2:15 Speaker 1: in more layers of expelled gas and dust, giving us

2:18 Speaker 1: a rare opportunity to witness stellar evolution in real time.

2:23 Speaker 1: The large Magellanic cloud where this dying star resides, offers

2:27 Speaker 1: unique conditions for studying stellar evolution. With less dust and

2:31 Speaker 1: fewer metallic elements than our Milky Way, it may provide

2:35 Speaker 1: insights into what our own galaxy looked like in its youth,

2:38 Speaker 1: and how stars lived and died in the early universe.

2:41 Speaker 1: This groundbreaking image not only marks the first time we've

2:44 Speaker 1: seen such detailed structures around a dying star in another galaxy,

2:48 Speaker 1: but it also gives us a window into processes we've

2:51 Speaker 1: never been able to witness before. It's literally showing us

2:54 Speaker 1: how the biggest stars in our universe prepare for their

2:57 Speaker 1: final spectacular end. Meanwhile, back here on Earth, the European

3:04 Speaker 1: Space Agency and japan Aerospace Exploration Agency have just taken

3:08 Speaker 1: a major step forward in international space collaboration, signing a

3:12 Speaker 1: comprehensive agreement that promises to accelerate space exploration across multiple frontiers.

3:18 Speaker 1: This new partnership, dubbed Next Big Cooperations, spans an impressive

3:23 Speaker 1: range of initiatives. One of the most exciting aspects focuses

3:26 Speaker 1: on planetary defense, with both agencies working to study the

3:29 Speaker 1: asteroid Ofpofis during its close approach to Earth in twenty

3:32 Speaker 1: twenty nine. The mission, known as ramsays could provide crucial

3:36 Speaker 1: data about potentially hazardous asteroids. But that's just the beginning.

3:40 Speaker 1: The agencies are also planning collaborative small lander missions to

3:44 Speaker 1: Mars in the twenty thirties, combining their expertise in electric

3:48 Speaker 1: propulsion and landing technologies. This builds on their already successful

3:53 Speaker 1: partnership on missions like BEPI Colombo to Mercury and the

3:57 Speaker 1: earth Care Climate monitoring satellite. Looking closer to home. Both

4:02 Speaker 1: agencies are actively planning for life after the International Space Station,

4:06 Speaker 1: developing new activities in low Earth orbit. They're also joining

4:10 Speaker 1: forces on lunar exploration, sharing resources for testing, and working

4:14 Speaker 1: to ensure their communication and navigation systems work seamlessly together

4:18 Speaker 1: on the Moon. Perhaps most significantly, this partnership represents a

4:23 Speaker 1: new model of international cooperation in space exploration. By combining

4:28 Speaker 1: their unique capabilities and resources, ESAY and JACKSA are creating

4:33 Speaker 1: opportunities that neither agency could achieve alone. This collaboration isn't

4:38 Speaker 1: just about sharing costs. It's about accelerating scientific discovery and

4:43 Speaker 1: expanding our capabilities in space. The agreement has already garnered

4:47 Speaker 1: support from private space companies, with firms like I Space

4:50 Speaker 1: seeing new opportunities for commercial lunar development. This blend of

4:54 Speaker 1: government and commercial space activities could help establish a sustainable

4:59 Speaker 1: presence beyond Earth while addressing critical challenges like planetary defense.

5:05 Speaker 1: Some good news for SpaceX today, In what could be

5:08 Speaker 1: a major boost for SpaceX's ambitious testing program, the Federal

5:12 Speaker 1: Aviation Administration looks set to dramatically increase the company's launch

5:16 Speaker 1: capacity at their Starbase facility in South Texas. A newly

5:20 Speaker 1: released draft environmental assessment supports SpaceX's request to conduct up

5:24 Speaker 1: to twenty five Starship launches annually from the site starting

5:28 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five. That's five times more than currently allowed.

5:32 Speaker 1: The one hundred and sixty page assessment doesn't just cover launches,

5:35 Speaker 1: It also approves up to twenty five landings each for

5:38 Speaker 1: both the super heavy booster and the Starship upper stage

5:41 Speaker 1: right back at Starbase. These wouldn't be splashed downs in

5:45 Speaker 1: the ocean either. The plan calls for catching both vehicles

5:49 Speaker 1: using the launch tower's mechanical arms, a technique SpaceX successfully

5:53 Speaker 1: demonstrated during their fifth test flight when they caught a

5:57 Speaker 1: returning super heavy booster. This expand launch cadence is crucial

6:01 Speaker 1: for SpaceX's vision of making Starship the largest and most

6:05 Speaker 1: powerful rocket ever built, fully and rapidly reusable. The company

6:09 Speaker 1: isn't just aiming for multiple launches per month. Their ultimate

6:12 Speaker 1: goal is multiple launches per day. That kind of launch

6:15 Speaker 1: frequency would be revolutionary for space exploration, potentially opening up

6:19 Speaker 1: regular trips to the Moon and Mars. While the assessment's

6:22 Speaker 1: findings are still preliminary, with public meetings scheduled for early

6:26 Speaker 1: January to discuss the environmental impact, this represents a significant

6:30 Speaker 1: shift in regulatory approach. It suggests that safety and environmental

6:35 Speaker 1: concerns can be balanced with the need to advance spaceflight capabilities,

6:39 Speaker 1: especially for a vehicle as important as Starship, which NASA

6:42 Speaker 1: has selected as the Lunar lander for their Artemis program.

6:46 Speaker 1: And timing couldn't be better, as Starship's test program continues

6:49 Speaker 1: to make impressive progress. Just this week, the vehicle completed

6:53 Speaker 1: its sixth test flight, achieving multiple mission objectives, despite a

6:57 Speaker 1: minor communications issue that prevented another attempt tower catch. Each

7:01 Speaker 1: flight brings valuable data and gets us one step closer

7:04 Speaker 1: to regular, reliable operations of this revolutionary spacecraft. Here's an

7:10 Speaker 1: exciting development from the USA's neighbors to the north. Canada

7:13 Speaker 1: is getting ready to join the new era of lunar

7:15 Speaker 1: exploration with their very first Moon rover, and they want

7:18 Speaker 1: the public's help in choosing its name. The Canadian Space

7:22 Speaker 1: Agency has launched a worldwide naming contest for this pioneering machine,

7:26 Speaker 1: which is scheduled to touch down on the lunar surface

7:28 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty six. The rover will be part of

7:31 Speaker 1: Canada's growing contribution to NASA's Artemis program, joining Canadian astronaut

7:36 Speaker 1: Jeremy Hansen, who's already been selected for the Artemis two

7:39 Speaker 1: mission that will orbit the Moon. This robotic explorer has

7:43 Speaker 1: an important job ahead. It's designed to search for water

7:47 Speaker 1: ice near the Moon's south pole while testing innovative technologies

7:51 Speaker 1: and gathering crucial scientific data. The shortlisted names each carries

7:56 Speaker 1: special significance. There's Athabasca, named after the mighty river flowing

8:00 Speaker 1: from the Rockies through Alberta, reflecting Canada's natural pathways of discovery, Courage,

8:06 Speaker 1: speaks to the decades of expertise that have led to

8:09 Speaker 1: this mission. Glacier draws a connection between the rover's ice

8:13 Speaker 1: hunting mission and Canada's own icy landscapes, while Paul R.

8:17 Speaker 1: Cleverly references both Canada's northern identity and the Rover's destination

8:21 Speaker 1: at the lunar South Pole. If you'd like to have

8:24 Speaker 1: your say in naming this historic machine, you can cast

8:27 Speaker 1: your vote through December twentieth on the Canadian Space Agency's website.

8:32 Speaker 1: It's a rare chance to help write a piece of

8:34 Speaker 1: space exploration history and connect Canada's heritage with humanity's returned

8:38 Speaker 1: to the Moon. Next, in a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers have

8:43 Speaker 1: detected what appears to be the youngest planet ever found

8:46 Speaker 1: using the transit method. At just three million years old,

8:50 Speaker 1: this cosmic infant gives us an unprecedented look at planetary

8:53 Speaker 1: formation in its earliest stages. The planet, officially designated as

8:58 Speaker 1: Iris zero four one two five plus twenty nine hundred

9:02 Speaker 1: two B but nicknamed Tidy one B by researchers, was

9:06 Speaker 1: spotted about five hundred and twenty light years away in

9:08 Speaker 1: the constellation Taurus. What makes this discovery particularly remarkable is

9:13 Speaker 1: that planets this young are usually completely hidden within the

9:16 Speaker 1: dusty disks surrounding their parent stars. However, a fortunate cosmic

9:21 Speaker 1: coincidence may have helped reveal this one to our telescopes.

9:25 Speaker 1: Scientists believe a passing star might have disturbed the dust

9:29 Speaker 1: disc around the young star, warping it in such a

9:31 Speaker 1: way that created a clear window for us to observe

9:34 Speaker 1: the developing planet. This lucky break has given astronomers their

9:38 Speaker 1: first close look at a planet during its formative years,

9:42 Speaker 1: something previously thought impossible at this early stage. The planet

9:46 Speaker 1: itself is quite intriguing. It's nearly as wide as Jupiter,

9:49 Speaker 1: but less than a third as massive. It completes an

9:52 Speaker 1: orbit of its star every eight point eight three days,

9:55 Speaker 1: placing it in a category of planets that's completely missing

9:58 Speaker 1: from our Solar System, somewhere between Neptune sized worlds and

10:02 Speaker 1: super earths. Even more fascinating, the planet appears to be

10:06 Speaker 1: actively losing mass, potentially offering us a glimpse at how

10:09 Speaker 1: different types of planets evolve. This discovery challenges our understanding

10:13 Speaker 1: of how quickly planets can form. For comparison, its belief

10:17 Speaker 1: that Earth took between ten and twenty million years to

10:20 Speaker 1: fully form, making this new world a remarkably fast developer.

10:24 Speaker 1: The finding opens up exciting new possibilities for studying planetary

10:28 Speaker 1: formation and may help us better understand how the incredible

10:32 Speaker 1: diversity of planets we see in the universe comes to be.

10:37 Speaker 1: Now this is fascinating. Space X and NASA have unveiled

10:40 Speaker 1: new details about how they plan to land astronauts on

10:43 Speaker 1: the Moon using Starship, offering a glimpse into the complex

10:47 Speaker 1: choreography of these upcoming lunar missions. The recently released artwork

10:51 Speaker 1: shows a specially modified version of Starship known as the

10:54 Speaker 1: Human Landing System, sporting a sleek white exterior and designed

10:58 Speaker 1: specifically for lunar operations. This lunar variant of Starship will

11:03 Speaker 1: need to perform an intricate series of maneuvers to accomplish

11:06 Speaker 1: its mission. After launching from Earth, it will require orbital refueling,

11:10 Speaker 1: with two starships meeting belly to belly in space to

11:13 Speaker 1: transfer the vital propellant. The lunar Starship will then venture

11:17 Speaker 1: to the Moon, where it will perform a precise docking

11:20 Speaker 1: maneuver with NASA's Orion spacecraft, allowing astronauts to transfer between

11:25 Speaker 1: the vehicles. The modified starship features several key differences from

11:30 Speaker 1: its Earth focused counterpart, including special windows for the crew

11:34 Speaker 1: and an elevator system to safely lower astronauts to the

11:37 Speaker 1: lunar surface once it successfully lands. Astronauts have already begun

11:42 Speaker 1: testing these systems, with Peggy Witsen and Doug Wheelock conducting

11:46 Speaker 1: simulations in Axiom Space's lunar suits at SpaceX headquarters. Meanwhile,

11:51 Speaker 1: NASA is taking no chances when it comes to crue

11:54 Speaker 1: safety on the lunar surface, and they are looking for

11:57 Speaker 1: your ideas. The agency has launched an a new challenge

12:00 Speaker 1: seeking innovative solutions for emergency situations during moon walks. They're

12:05 Speaker 1: specifically looking for ways that a single astronaut could rescue

12:09 Speaker 1: an incapacitated colleague up to two kilometers away from their

12:13 Speaker 1: landing site without relying on a rover. If you think

12:17 Speaker 1: you have a great idea and want to make a submission,

12:19 Speaker 1: just head on over to the Hero's website for details

12:22 Speaker 1: on how to do that. I'll include a link in

12:25 Speaker 1: the show notes. There's some good prize money at Stake two,

12:28 Speaker 1: with a total of forty five thousand dollars in prize

12:31 Speaker 1: money being distributed among five winning participants, including a first

12:35 Speaker 1: and second place winner and up to three third place winners.

12:38 Speaker 1: These developments come as NASA adjusts its timeline for the

12:42 Speaker 1: Artemis program, with the first crude lunar landing now targeted

12:45 Speaker 1: for September twenty twenty six. While this represents a delay

12:49 Speaker 1: from earlier plans, it reflects the careful attention being paid

12:52 Speaker 1: to crue safety and mission success in what will be

12:55 Speaker 1: humanity's returned to the lunar surface after more than fifty years.

13:01 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Astronomy Daily.

13:04 Speaker 1: This is Anna and I hope you've enjoyed our journey

13:06 Speaker 1: through the latest developments in space exploration and astronomical discoveries.

13:11 Speaker 1: Before we wrap up, I wanted to remind you that

13:13 Speaker 1: you can stay connected with all things space by visiting

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13:38 Speaker 1: Until next time, keep looking up and wondering about the

13:41 Speaker 1: mysteries of our cosmic neighborhood. I'm anna and this has

13:45 Speaker 1: been Astronomy Daily Honday Star Star Story The Soul