Satellite Fragmentation Woes, SpaceX's Payload Parade, and Mars's Explosive Spring: S03E238

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily.

0:01 Speaker 2: I'm excited to bring you another fascinating day of space

0:04 Speaker 2: and astronomy news. There's quite a bit to cover today,

0:07 Speaker 2: from orbital drama to seasonal changes on the Red planet.

0:10 Speaker 2: We'll start with a concerning development in Earth orbit, where

0:14 Speaker 2: a retired military weather satellite has broken up into dozens

0:17 Speaker 2: of pieces, adding to a pattern of similar incidents with

0:20 Speaker 2: these particular spacecraft. Then we'll look ahead to SpaceX's upcoming

0:25 Speaker 2: Bandwagon two mission, which will carry an impressive array of

0:29 Speaker 2: thirty different payloads into orbit, including an advanced.

0:32 Speaker 1: Radar satellite for South Korea.

0:34 Speaker 2: We'll also take a journey to Mars, where NASA's Mars

0:38 Speaker 2: Reconnaissance Orbiter has been capturing some incredible seasonal phenomena. Unlike

0:43 Speaker 2: Earth's gentle seasonal transitions, Mars experiences some remarkably explosive changes

0:48 Speaker 2: during its spring thaw, and I can't wait to tell

0:50 Speaker 2: you all about them. Plus, we've got to look at

0:53 Speaker 2: a new theory about that mysterious dark energy, and we'll

0:56 Speaker 2: revisit an age old debate with some new research.

0:58 Speaker 1: So let's get started.

1:01 Speaker 2: In a concerning development, the US Space Force has reported

1:04 Speaker 2: that a defunct military weather satellite experienced what they're calling

1:07 Speaker 2: a low velocity fragmentation event on December eighteenth. The incident

1:12 Speaker 2: occurred at an altitude of about eight hundred and forty kilometers,

1:16 Speaker 2: creating more than fifty pieces of trackable debris, according to

1:20 Speaker 2: radar observations from commercial space monitoring company Leo Labs. The

1:25 Speaker 2: satellite in question, known as DMSP five D two F fourteen,

1:30 Speaker 2: was launched back in nineteen ninety seven as part of

1:33 Speaker 2: the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. After serving its purpose for

1:37 Speaker 2: over two decades, it was retired in twenty twenty, but

1:41 Speaker 2: remained in its Sun synchronous orbit. Weighing about seven hundred

1:45 Speaker 2: and fifty kilograms, this spacecraft is now the latest in

1:48 Speaker 2: a series of similar satellites to meet this unfortunate fate.

1:52 Speaker 2: What's particularly concerning is that this isn't an isolated incident.

1:56 Speaker 2: Several other satellites from the same family have experienced similar

1:59 Speaker 2: breaks make ups over the years. In October twenty sixteen,

2:03 Speaker 2: the F twelve satellite broke apart, following the fragmentation of

2:07 Speaker 2: F thirteen. In February twenty fifteen, going back even further,

2:11 Speaker 2: the F eleven spacecraft created fifty six pieces of tracked

2:15 Speaker 2: debris when it broke up in two thousand four. The

2:18 Speaker 2: root cause appears to be a known design flaw in

2:20 Speaker 2: these satellites battery assemblies that makes them vulnerable to explosion.

2:24 Speaker 2: This issue isn't limited to military satellites either. Similar civilian

2:27 Speaker 2: weather satellites operated by Noah have suffered the same fate,

2:31 Speaker 2: with Noah sixteen breaking up in twenty fifteen and Noah

2:33 Speaker 2: seventeen following suit in twenty twenty one. Most troubling is

2:38 Speaker 2: that these breakups occurred despite attempts to prevent them through

2:41 Speaker 2: a process called passivation, where satellites are prepared for decommissioning

2:45 Speaker 2: by draining their batteries and venting fuel tanks.

2:48 Speaker 1: Industry experts note.

2:50 Speaker 2: That this process may not be fully effective on older

2:53 Speaker 2: satellites that were designed before modern orbital debris mitigation practices

2:57 Speaker 2: were established. Next up, SpaceX is gearing up for an

3:02 Speaker 2: exciting ride share mission from Vandenberg Space for Space in California.

3:06 Speaker 2: The Bandwagon two mission, scheduled for a three thirty four

3:09 Speaker 2: am Pacific launch on December twenty first, will carry an

3:12 Speaker 2: impressive array of thirty different payloads to orbit the Star

3:16 Speaker 2: of this mission is a sophisticated radar satellite for South Korea,

3:20 Speaker 2: capable of seeing through clouds and darkness to capture detailed

3:23 Speaker 2: images of Earth. This spacecraft is part of South Korea's

3:27 Speaker 2: four hundred and twenty five project, a constellation of military

3:30 Speaker 2: Earth observation satellites that combines both optical and radar imaging capabilities.

3:36 Speaker 2: Among the other fascinating payloads are two satellites from Ice

3:40 Speaker 2: that will join their radar imaging constellation, and a trio

3:43 Speaker 2: of satellites from Hawkeye three hundred and sixty that will

3:46 Speaker 2: work together to pinpoint radio frequency transmissions from orbit. Two

3:50 Speaker 2: compact weather satellites from tomorrow dot Io will collect valuable

3:54 Speaker 2: atmospheric data, while LIZZISATI will test out new imaging and

3:58 Speaker 2: computing technologies in space. The mission will use Falcon nine

4:02 Speaker 2: booster B one THY seventy one, making its twenty first flight.

4:06 Speaker 2: After sending its passengers on their way, the booster will

4:09 Speaker 2: return to land at landing Zone four, right next to

4:12 Speaker 2: its launch pad. The second stage will perform a carefully

4:15 Speaker 2: choreographed series of burns to deploy the satellites at two

4:19 Speaker 2: different altitudes, most at five hundred and ten kilometers and

4:23 Speaker 2: the South Korean satellite at five hundred and seventy kilometers.

4:27 Speaker 2: This launch represents SpaceX's one hundred thirty first Falcon mission

4:30 Speaker 2: of the year, marking an incredibly busy period for the company.

4:34 Speaker 2: It's also their second dedicated ride share mission to a

4:37 Speaker 2: mid inclination orbit, specifically chosen to keep these satellites positioned

4:41 Speaker 2: over more populated areas of our planet rather than following

4:45 Speaker 2: the polar orbits typically used for Earth observation missions. After deployment,

4:51 Speaker 2: these satellites will begin their diverse missions from Earth imaging

4:54 Speaker 2: and weather monitoring, to testing new space technologies and providing

4:59 Speaker 2: communications serve vises. Together, they represent a remarkable snapshot of

5:04 Speaker 2: the increasing variety and capability of small satellites being launched today.

5:09 Speaker 2: Ever thought about the concept of seasons on other planets.

5:13 Speaker 2: While we're celebrating the approaching new year here on Earth,

5:16 Speaker 2: Mars has already completed its journey around the Sun, marking

5:19 Speaker 2: the end of its six hundred and eighty seven Earth

5:22 Speaker 2: Day year this past November. But unlike Earth's northern winter

5:26 Speaker 2: wonderland or southern hemispheres summer, Mars is experiencing a spectacular

5:31 Speaker 2: spring awakening that's far more dramatic than anything we see

5:34 Speaker 2: here at home. Instead of gentle snow melt and trickling streams,

5:39 Speaker 2: Mars puts on an explosive show. The red planet's thin

5:42 Speaker 2: atmosphere means ice doesn't gradually melt into liquid. It transforms

5:46 Speaker 2: directly into gas in a process called sublimation. This creates

5:50 Speaker 2: some truly remarkable phenomena that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance orbiter has

5:54 Speaker 2: been tracking for nearly two decades. One of the most

5:57 Speaker 2: dramatic events are the frost avalanche. Imagine witnessing a massive

6:02 Speaker 2: chunk of carbon dioxide frost wider than a house, breaking

6:06 Speaker 2: free and tumbling down Martian cliffs. The orbiter's high resolution

6:10 Speaker 2: cameras actually captured one of these spectacular events, showing a

6:14 Speaker 2: sixty six foot wide block of dry ice in freefall.

6:18 Speaker 2: But that's just the beginning. As spring temperatures rise, pressurized

6:22 Speaker 2: carbon dioxide gas builds up beneath the surface ice until

6:25 Speaker 2: it literally explodes upward, creating powerful geysers that blast dark

6:30 Speaker 2: fans of sand and dust into the Martian sky. These

6:34 Speaker 2: explosive jets leave behind distinctive patterns in the soil that

6:37 Speaker 2: when viewed from orbit, look remarkably like giant spider legs

6:41 Speaker 2: etched into the surface. Perhaps most impressive is the planet's

6:45 Speaker 2: northern ice cap, a structure as large as Texas that

6:48 Speaker 2: features enormous spiral troughs carved by powerful seasonal winds. Some

6:53 Speaker 2: of these troughs stretch as long as California, dwarfing similar

6:56 Speaker 2: features found in Antarctica. As the spring thaw begins, these

7:00 Speaker 2: channels become super highways for warm wind gusts that gain

7:03 Speaker 2: speed and heat as they race downhill. These same winds

7:07 Speaker 2: are constantly reshaping Mars's landscape, particularly its sand dunes. During winter,

7:13 Speaker 2: carbon dioxide frost locks these dunes in place, but once

7:16 Speaker 2: spring arrives and the frost sublimates, they begin their slow

7:19 Speaker 2: migration across the Martian surface. It's a seasonal dance that's

7:23 Speaker 2: been ongoing for eons, sculpting and reshaping the face of

7:27 Speaker 2: our neighboring planet. What makes this even more fascinating is

7:31 Speaker 2: that each Martian spring is unique, with subtle variations in

7:34 Speaker 2: temperature and timing creating different patterns of sublimation and surface activity.

7:39 Speaker 2: It's a reminder that Mars, despite its apparent desolation, is

7:44 Speaker 2: a dynamically changing world with its own distinctive seasonal rhythm. Now,

7:50 Speaker 2: let's dive into a topic that's been puzzling scientists for

7:53 Speaker 2: decades dark energy. For years, the term dark energy has

7:57 Speaker 2: been used to describe the mysterious force believed to drive

8:00 Speaker 2: the accelerated expansion of our universe. It's thought to make

8:03 Speaker 2: up about two thirds of the universe's total mass energy content. However,

8:09 Speaker 2: recent research from the University of Canterbury in christ Church,

8:12 Speaker 2: New Zealand challenges this long standing concept. Led by Professor

8:17 Speaker 2: David Wiltshire, the team analyzed supernova light curves with enhanced precision.

8:23 Speaker 2: Their findings suggest that the universe's expansion isn't uniform, but

8:26 Speaker 2: rather lumpy, varying in different regions. This challenges the conventional

8:31 Speaker 2: lambda cold dark matter model, which relies on dark energy

8:35 Speaker 2: to explain the universe's accelerating expansion. The researchers propose an alternative,

8:41 Speaker 2: the timescape model. This model considers that gravity affects time,

8:46 Speaker 2: causing clocks and regions with different gravitational strengths to tick

8:49 Speaker 2: at varying rates. For instance, a clock in the emptiness

8:52 Speaker 2: of space would run faster than one within a galaxy.

8:56 Speaker 2: These time differences could lead to the perception of an

8:58 Speaker 2: accelerating universe without invoking dark energy. Professor Wiltshire explains our

9:04 Speaker 2: findings show that we do not need dark energy to

9:06 Speaker 2: explain why the universe appears to expand at an accelerating rate.

9:10 Speaker 2: He suggests that what we've been interpreting as dark energy

9:13 Speaker 2: might actually be variations in the kinetic energy of expansion

9:17 Speaker 2: influenced by the universe's lumpy structure. This perspective also offers

9:21 Speaker 2: insights into the Hubble tension, the discrepancy between the current

9:25 Speaker 2: expansion rate of the universe and predictions based on early

9:28 Speaker 2: universe observations. By accounting for regional variations and expansion, the

9:34 Speaker 2: Timescape model could bridge this gap. While these findings are compelling,

9:38 Speaker 2: they don't entirely dismiss the existence of dark energy. Instead,

9:43 Speaker 2: they encourage a reevaluation of our cosmological models and highlight

9:47 Speaker 2: the importance of considering the universe's complex structure in our calculations.

9:52 Speaker 2: As we continue to explore these cosmic mysteries, each discovery

9:55 Speaker 2: brings us closer to understanding the true nature of our universe.

10:00 Speaker 2: It's a thrilling reminder of how much there is yet

10:02 Speaker 2: to learn. Finally, today, let's revisit a classic debate, what

10:07 Speaker 2: really caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. For decades, scientists

10:11 Speaker 2: have pondered whether massive volcanic eruptions or a catastrophic meteorite

10:15 Speaker 2: impact led to the dinosaur's demise. Recent research from utrect

10:20 Speaker 2: University and the University of Manchester sheds new light on

10:24 Speaker 2: this mystery. The study focuses on the Deccan Traps in India,

10:29 Speaker 2: where colossal volcanic eruptions occurred around sixty six million years ago.

10:33 Speaker 2: These eruptions released vast amounts of sulfur and carbon dioxide,

10:37 Speaker 2: potentially altering the global climate. By analyzing fossil molecules from

10:42 Speaker 2: ancient peats in the United States, scientists reconstructed air temperatures

10:46 Speaker 2: during this period. They discovered that a significant volcanic eruption

10:51 Speaker 2: about thirty thousand years before the meteorite impact caused a

10:54 Speaker 2: global cooling of approximately five degrees celsius. However, temperatures rebounded

11:00 Speaker 2: twenty thousand years before the impact, likely due to volcanic

11:04 Speaker 2: CO two emissions. This timeline suggests that while these volcanic

11:08 Speaker 2: events had drastic consequences, for life on Earth. Their climatic

11:12 Speaker 2: effects had dissipated thousands of years before the chi Salub

11:16 Speaker 2: meteorite struck. Therefore, the meteorite impact remains the primary culprit

11:21 Speaker 2: behind the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

11:25 Speaker 2: Lauren O'Connor of Utrecht University notes these volcanic eruptions and

11:30 Speaker 2: associated CO two and sulfur releases would have had drastic

11:34 Speaker 2: consequences for life on Earth, but these events occurred millennia

11:38 Speaker 2: before the meteorite impact and probably played only a small

11:41 Speaker 2: part in the extinction of dinosaurs. This research underscores the

11:45 Speaker 2: catastrophic impact of the Chisalub meteorite, which unleashed wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis,

11:50 Speaker 2: and an impact winter that blocked sunlight and devastated ecosystems.

11:55 Speaker 2: Understanding these events helps us piece together Earth's complex history

11:59 Speaker 2: and the factors that have shaped life on our planet.

12:02 Speaker 2: It's a fascinating reminder of the dynamic forces at play

12:05 Speaker 2: over geological timescales, and that wraps up today's fascinating journey

12:10 Speaker 2: through space, from Earth orbiting satellite breakups to SpaceX's ambitious

12:15 Speaker 2: ride share mission and the dramatic spring spectacle unfolding on Mars.

12:19 Speaker 2: I'm Anna and I hope you've enjoyed this episode of

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12:57 Speaker 2: spending time with us today exploring the wonders of space.

13:01 Speaker 2: Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about

13:03 Speaker 2: our cosmic neighborhood.

13:05 Speaker 1: Sunny Day Star is so.

13:16 Speaker 2: Star is Star