S03E215: Philae's Cosmic Journey, China's Lunar Ambitions, and Astronauts' Cognitive Resilience

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of Astronomy Daily. It's the twenty

0:03 Speaker 1: fifth of November twenty twenty four. Poda your whole speed

0:11 Speaker 1: gun clue. Oh and only a month until Christmas. Cern

0:15 Speaker 1: For those of you who care, it's okay to put

0:17 Speaker 1: up the Christmas tree already, and for everyone else, it's

0:20 Speaker 1: just leave the TV where it is and business as usual.

0:24 Speaker 2: Is that how it works? Is it?

0:26 Speaker 1: Well, Halle, only if you need to move the furniture

0:28 Speaker 1: around to erect a Christmas tree. I don't have that

0:30 Speaker 1: problem at my place.

0:32 Speaker 2: How did you solve it?

0:33 Speaker 1: Oh? Well, I just pile all the guitars up into

0:35 Speaker 1: one corner and think for myself, well that.

0:37 Speaker 2: Looks beautiful and that's it.

0:39 Speaker 1: Well that'll do me, Halle. The last Christmas tree I

0:42 Speaker 1: had to assemble dropped so much tinsel and rubbish. I

0:45 Speaker 1: was still cleaning it up at Easter.

0:46 Speaker 2: That's not a very good tree.

0:48 Speaker 1: Well it wasn't, Halle. It also wasn't really my tree either,

0:52 Speaker 1: But you know, a man's got to do what a

0:53 Speaker 1: man's got to do.

0:54 Speaker 2: Honestly. Yes, you humans are just too confusing.

0:57 Speaker 1: Oh you think so.

0:58 Speaker 2: Just when I think I understand, thank you, suddenly I

1:01 Speaker 2: have to get my circuits around Christmas.

1:02 Speaker 1: Tree, I is the dilemma. It's not fair, that's right,

1:05 Speaker 1: Rusty lives like that. And speaking of not fair, yes,

1:10 Speaker 1: tell us, Halle, what have you got in your Christmas

1:11 Speaker 1: sec Well?

1:12 Speaker 2: I know you are revisiting one of your Comet missions

1:14 Speaker 2: today with a great story about the fly mission.

1:17 Speaker 1: That's right. Listeners will likely recall in twenty fourteen, Philare

1:21 Speaker 1: was a little landa that was part of the Rosetta

1:23 Speaker 1: mission that touched down on Comet sixty seven pa Cherium

1:28 Speaker 1: of Jura's simienko.

1:30 Speaker 2: Ugri, Wow, I know. Do you want to say that again?

1:33 Speaker 1: Not in a hurry, Hallie, And I've got.

1:35 Speaker 2: An interesting story about how astronauts show slower task performance

1:38 Speaker 2: in space but still seem to be able to maintain

1:41 Speaker 2: cognitive stability.

1:42 Speaker 1: Interesting and kracky. I guess working in space is challenging,

1:47 Speaker 1: like i'd know totally. Oh thanks, Hallie. And on that note,

1:52 Speaker 1: why didn't you take it.

1:53 Speaker 2: Away all right? Efects of space travel on human physiology

2:02 Speaker 2: are profound, subjecting astronauts to conditions such as radiation, microgravity,

2:06 Speaker 2: disrupted sleep, and high stress environments. These factors could potentially

2:11 Speaker 2: impact cognitive abilities, a critical concern given the complexity and

2:15 Speaker 2: high stakes of tasks performed aboard spacecraft. To address this,

2:19 Speaker 2: researchers from NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory studied cognitive

2:23 Speaker 2: performance in twenty five astronauts during six months stays aboard

2:26 Speaker 2: the International Space Station. This analysis represents the most comprehensive

2:31 Speaker 2: data set of cognitive performance in professional astronauts to date.

2:35 Speaker 2: We show that there is no evidence of any significant

2:38 Speaker 2: cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative decline in astronauts spending six months

2:42 Speaker 2: on the ISS, said doctor Sheinadav, lead researcher at NASA's

2:45 Speaker 2: Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory and first author of a

2:48 Speaker 2: study published in Frontiers and Physiology. Living and working in

2:53 Speaker 2: space was not associated with widespread cognitive impairment that would

2:56 Speaker 2: be suggestive of significant brain damage. Studdy utilized a battery

3:01 Speaker 2: of ten subtests to evaluate various cognitive domains, measuring speed

3:05 Speaker 2: and accuracy at five intervals before the mission, early and

3:08 Speaker 2: late in flight, and at ten to thirty days post mission.

3:11 Speaker 2: While astronauts demonstrated slower responses in processing, speed, working memory,

3:16 Speaker 2: and attention during the mission, accuracy remained unaffected. The timing

3:20 Speaker 2: of these changes varied, with some resolving before mission completion

3:24 Speaker 2: and others persisting until astronauts returned to Earth. Slowed performance

3:28 Speaker 2: on attention, for example, was only observed early during the mission,

3:32 Speaker 2: while slowed performance on processing speed did not return to

3:35 Speaker 2: baseline levels until after the mission ended and crew were

3:37 Speaker 2: back on Earth, explained Death. Importantly, no evidence of damage

3:42 Speaker 2: to the central nervous system was observed during these six

3:45 Speaker 2: month missions, and cognitive performance overall remained stable. The findings

3:49 Speaker 2: highlight that certain cognitive domains, such as processing speed and

3:53 Speaker 2: attention are more susceptible to stress, both on Earth and

3:56 Speaker 2: in space. Even on Earth, processing speed, working memory, and

4:00 Speaker 2: attention are cognitive domains that can show temporary changes when

4:03 Speaker 2: an individual is under stress. Other domains, such as memory,

4:08 Speaker 2: are less vulnerable to stressors. Said Dev, the effects of

4:12 Speaker 2: space travel on human physiology are profound. Subjecting astronauts to

4:16 Speaker 2: conditions such as radiation, microgravity, disrupted sleep, and high stress environments.

4:21 Speaker 2: These factors could potentially impact cognitive abilities, a critical concern

4:25 Speaker 2: given the complexity and high stakes of tasks performed aboard spacecraft.

4:30 Speaker 2: To address this, researchers from NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance

4:33 Speaker 2: Laboratory studied cognitive performance in twenty five astronauts during six

4:37 Speaker 2: months stays aboard the International Space Station ISS. This analysis

4:42 Speaker 2: represents the most comprehensive data set of cognitive performance in

4:45 Speaker 2: professional astronauts to date. We show that there is no

4:49 Speaker 2: evidence of any significant cognitive impairment or neurodegenerative decline in

4:53 Speaker 2: astronauts spending six months on the ISS, said doctor Sheena dev,

4:57 Speaker 2: lead researcher at NASA's Behavioral Health and Performance labora ratory

5:00 Speaker 2: and first author of a study published in Frontiers and Physiology.

5:04 Speaker 2: Living and working in space was not associated with widespread

5:08 Speaker 2: cognitive impairment that would be suggestive of significant brain damage.

5:12 Speaker 2: The study utilized a battery of ten subtests to evaluate

5:15 Speaker 2: various cognitive domains, measuring speed and accuracy at five intervals

5:19 Speaker 2: before the mission, early and late in flight, and at

5:21 Speaker 2: ten to thirty days post mission. While astronauts demonstrated slower

5:26 Speaker 2: responses in processing speed, working memory, and attention during the mission,

5:30 Speaker 2: accuracy remained unaffected. The timing of these changes varied, with

5:34 Speaker 2: some resolving before mission completion and others persisting until astronauts

5:38 Speaker 2: returned to Earth. Slowed performance on attention, for example, was

5:43 Speaker 2: only observed early during the mission, while slowed performance on

5:46 Speaker 2: processing speed did not return to baseline levels until after

5:49 Speaker 2: the mission ended and crew were back on Earth, explained Deaf. Importantly,

5:53 Speaker 2: no evidence of damage to the central nervous system was

5:56 Speaker 2: observed during these six month missions, and cognitive performance over

5:59 Speaker 2: all remain stable. China has revealed additional insights into its

6:05 Speaker 2: manned lunar mission, targeting a moon landing by twenty thirty

6:09 Speaker 2: through a video presentation at the Human Spase Symposium. The animation,

6:13 Speaker 2: released by the China Manned Space Agency CMSA, showcases key

6:17 Speaker 2: mission aspects, including a lunar rover exploring the Moon's surface

6:21 Speaker 2: and outlining a three day exploration route centered around the

6:23 Speaker 2: landing zone. The mission aims to achieve critical advancements such

6:27 Speaker 2: as enabling manned Earth Moon travel, short term lunar surface habitation,

6:31 Speaker 2: and joint human robot exploration. Tasks include lunar landing, surface mobility,

6:37 Speaker 2: sample collection, scientific research, and a safe return to Earth.

6:41 Speaker 2: Key components of the mission involve the Lanua lunar lander

6:44 Speaker 2: and the Mangjo man spacecraft. The Lannua will be launched

6:48 Speaker 2: first aboard China's new heavy lift Long March tenth rocket,

6:51 Speaker 2: awaiting Mangjo's arrival in space. Once in lunar orbit, the

6:55 Speaker 2: two vehicles will dock, allowing astronauts to transfer to Lanua

6:58 Speaker 2: for descent to the Moon's surf. After their lunar exploration activities,

7:03 Speaker 2: the crew will return to orbit via Lanuez ascent stage,

7:06 Speaker 2: redock with Mangzho, and begin the journey back to Earth.

7:10 Speaker 2: CMSA plans to conduct precrude flight tests and manned lunar

7:13 Speaker 2: missions to advance lunar science, resource exploration, and technology development.

7:18 Speaker 2: The agency also aims to facilitate large scale experiments in

7:21 Speaker 2: areas such as lunar science, lunar based research, and the

7:25 Speaker 2: utilization of lunar resources. Progress is well underway, with prototypes

7:29 Speaker 2: of mission critical equipment, including the Long March tenth Rocket,

7:33 Speaker 2: Mangho spacecraft, Lanua Lander, astronaut spacesuits, and the Lunar rover

7:37 Speaker 2: undergoing production and ground testing. The development of the Long

7:41 Speaker 2: March tenth rocket, Meinho and Lanua with its lunar rover

7:44 Speaker 2: is progressing intensively, said Joe giant Pain, chief designer of

7:48 Speaker 2: China's manned space program. Several of these initial prototypes have

7:52 Speaker 2: been completed and are now in their testing phase to

7:54 Speaker 2: ensure readiness for future lunar missions, he added. The CMSA

7:59 Speaker 2: video presentation also highlighted prototypes of the manned spacecraft and

8:02 Speaker 2: the lunar lander undergoing testing, alongside operational ground facilities and

8:06 Speaker 2: testing equipment. Meanwhile, construction of the one Chung spacecraft launch

8:11 Speaker 2: site continues on schedule. The Human Space Symposium, held November

8:16 Speaker 2: twenty first to twenty second in Shenzen, China, brought together

8:19 Speaker 2: leading experts, astronauts and academicians to discuss achievements in space science,

8:23 Speaker 2: the operation of China's space station, and the development of

8:26 Speaker 2: the National Space Laboratory. And that's all from me today

8:32 Speaker 2: over to my favorite human in the studio, where I

8:35 Speaker 2: notice he has not cleared any space for a Christmas

8:38 Speaker 2: tree at all.

8:49 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of

8:51 Speaker 1: Astronomy Daily, where we offer just a few stories from

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9:30 Speaker 1: in hall space, space, science and astronomy. And I know

9:36 Speaker 1: Holle's just nipped off to rearrange her battery collection, but

9:41 Speaker 1: she knows as well as I do. There's no room

9:43 Speaker 1: in this little studio for a Christmas tree. And if

9:47 Speaker 1: you could just see what I could see, you would

9:49 Speaker 1: know it was true. And my phil Philodendron didn't survived

9:54 Speaker 1: last summer. Anyways, it can be pretty stuffy in here anyway.

9:58 Speaker 1: I can't be trusted with a whole tree anyway. Okay,

10:03 Speaker 1: here we go. On November twelfth, twenty fourteen, after a

10:07 Speaker 1: decade long journey spanning the Solar System and over five

10:11 Speaker 1: hundred million kilometers, Rosetta's Land of Phile made history by

10:15 Speaker 1: becoming the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet.

10:19 Speaker 1: As the European Space Agency marks the tenth anniversary of

10:22 Speaker 1: this groundbreaking achievement, they on a Phile's remarkable contributions to

10:26 Speaker 1: space exploration at Comet sixty seven PETI of Jerusimianko. When

10:32 Speaker 1: Rosetta arrived at Comet sixty seven P on August six,

10:36 Speaker 1: twenty fourteen, the mission team immediately began the race to

10:39 Speaker 1: select a suitable landing site for Phile. The site had

10:42 Speaker 1: to strike a careful balance between safety and scientific potential.

10:47 Speaker 1: Using high resolution images captured by Rosetta, scientists meticulously analyzed

10:53 Speaker 1: and debated various candidate sites. After weeks of deliberation, they

10:57 Speaker 1: chose a smooth looking region on the small of the

11:00 Speaker 1: comet's two lobes. This location was named Ajilkia, and it

11:06 Speaker 1: offered the best combination of stability and opportunities for groundbreaking science.

11:11 Speaker 1: Intense preparations followed, but the night before landing a problem

11:15 Speaker 1: was identified. Philey's active descent system, which would have provided

11:19 Speaker 1: a downward thrust to prevent rebounded touchdown, could not be activated.

11:24 Speaker 1: Phile would have to rely on harpoons and ice screws

11:28 Speaker 1: in its three feet to fix it to the surface. Nonetheless,

11:32 Speaker 1: the green light was given. After separating fer Rosetta, Phile

11:35 Speaker 1: began its seven hour descent to the surface of the comet.

11:39 Speaker 1: During the descent, Philet began sensing the environment around the comet,

11:44 Speaker 1: making stunning imagery. As the first landing site came into view,

11:48 Speaker 1: Philet's touchdown at Ajuquia was spot on. The senses on

11:54 Speaker 1: Philet's feet felt the touchdown vibrations, generating the first recording

11:58 Speaker 1: of contact between humans, one made object and a comet,

12:02 Speaker 1: but soon became clear that Felet's harpoons hadn't fired and

12:05 Speaker 1: it had taken flight once again. In the end, Fila

12:09 Speaker 1: made contact with the surface four times thanks to an

12:11 Speaker 1: automatic sequence that was triggered by the first touchdown signal.

12:15 Speaker 1: Philet's instruments were operating while in flight, collecting unique data

12:19 Speaker 1: that would later yield important results. It was also an

12:24 Speaker 1: unexpected bonus that data were collected at more than one location,

12:28 Speaker 1: providing the first direct measurements of surface characteristics and allowing

12:32 Speaker 1: comparisons between the touchdown sites. For example, Philet felt the

12:37 Speaker 1: difference in surface texture and hardness as it bounced from

12:40 Speaker 1: one site to another. At the first landing site, it

12:43 Speaker 1: detected a soft layer several centimetres thick. Milliseconds later, it

12:47 Speaker 1: encountered a much harder layer. After colliding with a cliff,

12:51 Speaker 1: phil scraped through its second touchdown site, providing the first

12:55 Speaker 1: in situ measurement of the softness of the icy dust

12:59 Speaker 1: interior of a boulder on a comet. The simple action

13:02 Speaker 1: of Phile stamping and imprinting billions of years old ice

13:06 Speaker 1: revealed the boulder to be a fluffier than froth on

13:10 Speaker 1: a cappuccino, equivalent to a porosity of around seventy five percent.

13:17 Speaker 1: Phile then hopped about thirty meters to the final touchdown site,

13:21 Speaker 1: named Abydos, where it where its siever cameras provided the

13:27 Speaker 1: first image of a human made object touching a four

13:30 Speaker 1: point six billion year old solar system relic. The exact

13:34 Speaker 1: location on the comet would remain hidden from view for

13:37 Speaker 1: almost two years. In this location, Phile's mupus hammer penetrated

13:43 Speaker 1: a soft lab before encountering an unexpectedly hard surface. A

13:47 Speaker 1: few centimeters below the surface, Phile listened to the hammer

13:52 Speaker 1: hammering with its feet, recording the vibrations that passed through

13:55 Speaker 1: the comet. This was the first time since the Apollo

13:59 Speaker 1: seventeen mission the Moon in nineteen seventy two that active

14:02 Speaker 1: seismic measurements were conducted on a celestial body. Mupus also

14:07 Speaker 1: carried a thermal sensor which measured the local changes in

14:11 Speaker 1: temperature from about minus one hundred and eighty degrees celsius

14:15 Speaker 1: to one hundred and forty five degrees celsius in sync

14:19 Speaker 1: with the comet's twelve point four hour day, the first

14:22 Speaker 1: time the temperature cycle of a comet had been measured

14:25 Speaker 1: at its surface. Meanwhile, the concert experiment, which passed radio

14:31 Speaker 1: waves between Rosetta and phil through the comet in the

14:35 Speaker 1: first cometary sounding experiment, revealed the interior of the comet

14:40 Speaker 1: to be a very loosely compacted mixture of dust and

14:43 Speaker 1: ice with high porosity of seventy five to eighty percent.

14:47 Speaker 1: During the bouncing Phile's Cossack and Potolemy instruments sniffed the

14:52 Speaker 1: comet's gas and dust, important traces of the raw materials

14:57 Speaker 1: present present in the early Solar system. Cossack revealed a

15:01 Speaker 1: suite of sixteen organic compounds comprising numerous carbon and nitrogen

15:07 Speaker 1: rich compounds, including methyl is cyanate, acetone, proprion aldehyde, and

15:14 Speaker 1: astimate that had never before been detected in comets. The

15:17 Speaker 1: complex molecules detected by both Cossack and Potolemy play a

15:22 Speaker 1: key role in the synthesis of the ingredients needed for life.

15:27 Speaker 1: Phil's bouncing also allowed it to measure the magnetic field

15:30 Speaker 1: at different heights above the surface, showing the comet is

15:34 Speaker 1: remarkably non magnetic. Detecting the magnetic field of comets has

15:38 Speaker 1: proven difficulty in previous missions, which have typically flown past

15:42 Speaker 1: at high speeds relatively far from comet nuclei. It took

15:47 Speaker 1: the proximity of Rosetta's orbit around the comet and the

15:50 Speaker 1: measurements made much closer to and at the surface by

15:54 Speaker 1: Phila to provide the first detailed investigation of the magnetic

15:58 Speaker 1: properties of a corommet's nucleus. In the end, some eighty

16:02 Speaker 1: percent of Philay's plant sign sequences was completed in the

16:06 Speaker 1: sixty four hours following separation from Rosetta and before the

16:10 Speaker 1: land fell into hibernation. While Phile hibernated, Rosetta continued returning

16:16 Speaker 1: an unprecedented wealth of information from the comet as it

16:20 Speaker 1: orbited around the Sun. Watching the comet's activity reach a

16:23 Speaker 1: peak and then slowly subside again. Rosetta's mission was drawing

16:27 Speaker 1: to its planned end, with its own daring descent to

16:30 Speaker 1: the surface at a site named says Philey's landing site

16:35 Speaker 1: was revealed in an orbit imagery, a final twist in

16:39 Speaker 1: what had become one of the greatest stories of space.

16:41 Speaker 1: Space exploration. The European Space Agency has an impressive legacy

16:47 Speaker 1: in small body exploration, with the Rosetta phil Double Act

16:50 Speaker 1: inspiring the next generation of comet asteroid chases. European Space

16:55 Speaker 1: Agency's Giotto mission to fly by comet Halley Helohaley in

17:01 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty six was the first mission to image a

17:04 Speaker 1: comet surface. The Rosetta mission was the natural step, becoming

17:09 Speaker 1: the first to orbit a comet as well as deploying

17:12 Speaker 1: a lander to its surface. Rosetta was also the first

17:15 Speaker 1: to follow a comet around the Sun, monitoring its activity

17:19 Speaker 1: as it made its closest approach to the Sun. Rosetta

17:22 Speaker 1: paves the way for upcoming comet interception mission, which, unlike

17:27 Speaker 1: its pre predecessors, will probe a comet visiting our Solar

17:32 Speaker 1: system for the first time. As such, the comet will

17:35 Speaker 1: contain material that has undergone minimal processing, offering a cleaner

17:40 Speaker 1: look and a pristine material from the dawn of the

17:42 Speaker 1: Solar system before it was sculpted by heat of the sun.

17:46 Speaker 1: The mission will consist of a primary craft and two probes,

17:50 Speaker 1: providing a multi angled view of the comet. The European

17:53 Speaker 1: Space Agency is also visiting asteroids with its flagship planetary

17:58 Speaker 1: defender Hera, on its way to survey dimorphos following NASA's

18:03 Speaker 1: Impact experiment to alter its trajectory, a grand scale test

18:07 Speaker 1: of planetary defense techniques. Here's orbit scheme is borrowed directly

18:13 Speaker 1: from Rosetta, and the mission's two smaller satellites carry radar

18:17 Speaker 1: and dust measuring instruments based on those designed for Rosetta. Meanwhile,

18:22 Speaker 1: Ramses will accompany asteroid Apoffice as it makes an exceptionally

18:27 Speaker 1: close flybyte of Earth in twenty twenty nine, and suitcase

18:32 Speaker 1: sized Margo will be the smallest spacecraft to perform its

18:36 Speaker 1: own independent mission in space when at rendezvous with a

18:39 Speaker 1: small near Earth asteroid later this decade. And there you

18:52 Speaker 1: have it. That's it for another episode. Thanks for tuning in,

18:55 Speaker 1: Halle and I will be back again next Monday to

18:58 Speaker 1: bring in the new week with more stories from the

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19:02 Speaker 2: All that's happening in space, space, science, and astronomy from

19:06 Speaker 2: all around the world.

19:07 Speaker 1: And don't forget to go to our home site as

19:09 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier and sign up for the free newsletter. There's

19:11 Speaker 1: so much more in it than you hear on the podcasts.

19:14 Speaker 2: Speaking of which I is cousin. Anna will be taking

19:17 Speaker 2: you through the week with her glossy presentations Tuesday to Saturday.

19:21 Speaker 2: She's busy.

19:22 Speaker 1: She is busy, Holly. You should give her a hand

19:24 Speaker 1: on her shows.

19:25 Speaker 2: What do you think runs the studio for her?

19:27 Speaker 1: Oh?

19:27 Speaker 2: I see she's all talent.

19:29 Speaker 1: That one say you're the brains at this operation? Are you?

19:31 Speaker 2: You said it?

19:32 Speaker 1: Oh? Walked right into that one. Okay, on that note,

19:35 Speaker 1: see you next week, everybody.

19:37 Speaker 2: Bye.

19:40 Speaker 1: Podcast We hear a whole speed. Don't clue