Space Health Insights; Lunar Eclipse 2025 and LEGO's Galactic Investment

0:00 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. Your go

0:03 to source for the latest news from space and

0:06 beyond. I'm Anna.

0:08 Avery: And I'm Avery. We've got some absolutely

0:11 fascinating stories for you today from

0:13 groundbreaking research on how space travel

0:15 affects our bodies to a spectacular lunar

0:18 eclipse coming next year, and even the most

0:21 expensive Lego set ever created.

0:24 Anna: Oh, that Lego story is going to be fun.

0:27 But first, let's dive into some serious

0:30 science.

0:32 NASA just published some pretty concerning

0:34 findings about what happens to our blood

0:36 cells in space. Avery. This study

0:39 tracked human stem cells during four

0:42 different SpaceX missions to the

0:44 International Space Station.

0:46 Avery: Yeah, and the results are pretty eye opening,

0:49 Anna. Uh, these cells spent between 32 to

0:52 45 days in space, and researchers found

0:54 they started losing their ability to make

0:57 healthy new cells. Basically, they began

0:59 showing signs of accelerated aging up there.

1:02 Anna: That's really troubling when you think about

1:04 it. What specifically were they seeing?

1:07 DNA damage.

1:09 Avery: Exactly. The cells show DNA damage

1:12 and something called shorter telomeres. Think

1:15 of telomeres like the plastic tips on

1:17 shoelaces. They protect our chromosomes. And

1:20 when they get shorter, it's a sign of

1:22 cellular aging. But here's the interesting

1:24 part. So some of this damage actually

1:26 reversed when the cells returned to Earth.

1:29 Anna: M that's actually encouraging news. So our

1:32 bodies might have some ability to recover

1:35 from space induced aging, but this research

1:37 is crucial for planning those long duration

1:40 missions to Mars, right?

1:42 Avery: Absolutely. A trip to Mars could take six

1:44 to nine months each way. So we're talking

1:47 about astronauts spending well over a year in

1:49 space. Understanding how to protect them from

1:52 the cellular damage is going to be essential.

1:55 The research team led by SC from UC

1:58 San Diego found that the space environment

2:00 creates what they call a senescence like

2:03 state in these stem cells. Basically,

2:05 premature aging at the cellular level. Plus,

2:08 this research might also help us understand

2:11 aging here on Earth, potentially leading to

2:14 new treatments for age related diseases.

2:16 Anna: That's fascinating. So what exactly

2:19 is it about the space environment that causes

2:22 this damage? Is it the radiation

2:25 or the microgravity or both?

2:28 Avery: Great question, Anna. Uh, it's actually a

2:30 combination of multiple stressors. First,

2:33 there's the cosmic radiation. High energy

2:36 particles that constantly bombard astronauts

2:38 outside Earth's protective magnetosphere.

2:41 Then there's microgravity, which affects how

2:44 cells distribute nutrients and waste

2:46 products. The researchers also noted that the

2:48 confined space environment and altered

2:50 circadian rhythms could contribute to

2:53 cellular stress. It's like a perfect

2:55 storm of conditions that our bodies simply

2:58 didn't evolve to handle.

3:00 Anna: M Are there any potential countermeasures

3:02 being developed? I imagine this research is

3:04 leading to Ideas about how we might protect

3:07 astronauts on those long Mars missions?

3:10 Avery: Absolutely. NASA and other space agencies

3:13 are exploring several approaches. They're

3:15 looking at pharmaceutical interventions,

3:18 drugs that could protect cells from radiation

3:20 damage or help maintain telomere length.

3:23 There's also research into better spacecraft

3:26 shielding, artificial gravity systems using

3:28 rotating modules, and even the possibility

3:31 of using stem cell therapy to refresh an

3:34 astronaut's blood supply during long

3:36 missions. Some scientists are even

3:38 investigating whether certain dietary

3:40 supplements or exercise regimens might help

3:43 counteract these effects.

3:45 Anna: That's a great point. Space research often

3:47 leads to medical breakthroughs for everyone.

3:50 But speaking of things we can all look

3:52 forward to, let's talk about this amazing

3:55 lunar eclipse coming up. Avery, tell me about

3:58 this blood Moon event.

3:59 Avery: Oh, this is going to be spectacular.

4:02 On September 7th and 8th, 2025,

4:05 we're getting a total lunar eclipse that will

4:08 be visible to over 7 billion people around

4:11 the world. That's like 85% of the

4:14 global population. Anna. Uh, the eclipse will

4:16 be best seen from Europe, Africa, Asia, and

4:19 Australia. The total phase will last for

4:22 about 65 minutes, making it one of the longer

4:25 total lunar eclipses we'll see this decade.

4:28 Anna: That's a long duration. Can you walk us

4:31 through what viewers will actually see during

4:33 those 65 minutes of totality?

4:35 Avery: It's going to be amazing. The eclipse will

4:38 begin with a subtle dimming as Earth's

4:40 penumbral shadow starts covering the moon.

4:43 Then, around 1826 UTC,

4:46 the partial eclipse begins as Earth darker

4:49 umbral shadow starts taking a bite out of the

4:51 Moon. The real magic happens at 19:30

4:54 UTC, when the moon will turn that beautiful

4:57 deep red or copper color. During

4:59 totality, viewers might also see stars that

5:02 are normally washed out by the Moon's

5:04 brightness. The whole event will last about

5:07 five and a half hours from start to finish.

5:10 Anna: Wow, that's incredible reach. But

5:12 unfortunately, we here in the US Won't be

5:15 able to see it directly, right?

5:18 Avery: That's right. But don't worry. There are

5:20 going to be multiple free livestreams

5:22 available. The Virtual Telescope project in

5:25 Italy and Time and Date from Cyprus are both

5:27 planning coverage. So we can still experience

5:30 that beautiful blood Moon effect from our

5:32 computers.

5:33 Anna: For our listeners who might not know, can

5:36 you explain what creates that dramatic red

5:38 color during a total lunar eclipse?

5:41 Avery: Sure. So during a total lunar eclipse,

5:44 Earth passes directly between the Moon and

5:47 the Sun. But Earth's atmosphere acts like a

5:50 lens, bending sunlight around our planet.

5:53 The red wavelengths of light get through more

5:55 easily than blue ones. So the Moon takes on

5:58 this eerie reddish glow. It's the same Reason

6:01 sunsets look red.

6:02 Anna: I love how astronomy connects these

6:05 everyday phenomena.

6:07 Now let's shift gears to some exciting

6:09 telescope news. The Murchison

6:12 Wildfield Array in Western Australia

6:14 just completed a major upgrade.

6:17 Avery: This upgrade is massive, Anna. Uh, they've

6:20 completed what they're calling phase three,

6:22 which doubled the telescope from

6:24 4,096 antennas to

6:27 8,192 antennas spread

6:30 over a 30 square kilometer area. That's

6:32 quadrupled their data output and

6:34 significantly improved their resolution.

6:37 Anna: That's an incredible scale. What are they

6:40 planning to study with all this new

6:41 capability?

6:43 Avery: They're focusing on some of the most

6:44 fundamental questions in astronomy. They want

6:47 to study the epoch of reionization,

6:49 basically the period when the first stars and

6:52 galaxies lit up the universe after the dark

6:54 ages, about 13 billion years ago.

6:57 This upgrade will let them map hydrogen

6:59 signals from that era with unprecedented

7:02 detail. They're also looking at transient

7:04 events like fast radio bursts and something

7:07 really mysterious called odd radio circles,

7:10 or orcs. Plus, they'll be

7:13 doing advanced studies of pulsars, which are

7:15 like cosmic lighthouses that can help us

7:17 understand extreme physics.

7:19 Anna: Odd radio circles. That sounds

7:22 intriguing. Are these like crop circles

7:25 but in space?

7:27 Avery: Not quite, but they are mysterious.

7:29 Orcs are these huge circular

7:32 radio structures that we can see with radio

7:34 telescopes, but they don't appear in visible

7:37 light, X rays, or infrared.

7:40 We're not exactly sure what causes them. They

7:43 might be shockwaves from galactic collisions

7:45 or something even more exotic. The

7:48 upgraded MWA should help us figure out what

7:51 they really are.

7:52 Anna: And this is all preparation for an even

7:54 bigger project, right?

7:56 Avery: Exactly. This upgrade is helping prepare for

7:59 the Square kilometer array, or

8:01 SKA, which will eventually have

8:04 131,000 antennas.

8:07 When that's complete, it'll be the world's

8:09 largest radio telescope. The MWA

8:12 is basically a testing ground for the

8:14 technologies and techniques they'll need for

8:16 that massive project.

8:18 Anna: Speaking of groundbreaking discoveries, we

8:20 should talk about some recent James Webb

8:23 Telescope findings that are literally

8:25 rewriting astronomy textbooks.

8:28 Avery. The Webb Telescope has been finding

8:30 galaxies that are much more massive and

8:33 mature than we expected in the early

8:35 universe.

8:36 Avery: Oh, yes, this is absolutely revolutionary

8:39 stuff. Anna Webb is seeing galaxies that

8:42 formed just 400 to 600 million years

8:45 after the Big Bang. That's when the universe

8:47 was only about 3 to 4% of its current age.

8:50 But these galaxies are surprisingly large and

8:53 well structured. Some are as massive as our

8:55 Milky Way, which, according to our previous

8:58 models, shouldn't have been possible so early

9:00 in cosmic history. It's like finding a fully

9:03 grown oak tree in what you expected to be A

9:05 nursery of seedlings.

9:07 Anna: That's such a perfect analogy. So

9:10 what does this mean for our understanding of

9:12 how the universe evolved? Are astronomers

9:15 having to revise their models?

9:17 Avery: Absolutely they are. These discoveries

9:19 suggest that galaxy formation and growth

9:21 happened much faster than we thought

9:23 possible. Astronomers are now reconsidering

9:26 how efficiently the first black holes and

9:28 stars formed and how quickly they could

9:30 accumulate matters. Some theories propose

9:32 that the universe's early dark matter

9:34 structures were more massive and formed more

9:36 rapidly than our standard models predicted.

9:39 It's also possible that the first stars were

9:41 much more massive and short lived than we

9:43 assumed, leading to faster chemical

9:45 enrichment of the early universe.

9:47 Anna: It's incredible how much Webb is changing our

9:50 perspective on the cosmos.

9:51 And speaking of discoveries that challenge

9:54 our assumptions, let's talk about some

9:56 exciting news from Mars. The Perseverance

9:59 rover has made some remarkable discoveries in

10:01 Jezero CR that are giving us new

10:04 insights into ancient Martian water activity.

10:07 Avery: Yes, this is really exciting. Perseverance

10:10 has been analyzing sedimentary rocks that

10:12 clearly show evidence of a substantial lake

10:15 that existed in Jezero Crater buildings of

10:17 years ago. But what's particularly

10:19 interesting is the chemistry they're finding.

10:22 The rover has detected organic compounds,

10:24 carbon based molecules that could potentially

10:27 be biosignatures. Now these could also have

10:30 non biological origins, but they're exactly

10:33 the kind of molecules that life as we know it

10:35 would produce.

10:36 Anna: And Perseverance is collecting samples from

10:38 these promising locations. Right, for

10:41 eventual return to Earth.

10:43 Avery: Exactly. Perseverance has now collected over

10:46 24 samples in sealed tubes. And several

10:48 of them are from these particularly

10:50 intriguing locations. The Mars sample return

10:53 mission is still being planned. But when

10:56 those samples eventually make it back to

10:57 Earth, hopefully Sometime in the2030s,

11:00 scientists will be able to analyze them with

11:02 laboratory instruments that are far more

11:05 sophisticated than anything we can send to

11:07 Mars. That's when we might finally get

11:09 definitive answers about whether life ever

11:11 existed on Mars.

11:12 Anna: The possibility of finding life on Mars,

11:15 that would be the ultimate discovery.

11:18 But while we wait for those samples to

11:20 return, let's bring things back to Earth with

11:23 something that's sure to delight space fans

11:26 of all ages. And it's going to cost you

11:28 nearly $1,000 if you want it.

11:31 Avery: Ugh. You're talking about the new LEGO Death

11:33 Star. Anna. Uh, this thing is absolutely

11:35 incredible. Lego just announced their new

11:38 Star Wars Ultimate Collector series, Death

11:40 Star, and it's the most expensive LEGO set

11:43 they've ever made at

11:44 $999.99.

11:47 Anna: Nearly a thousand dollars for LEGO

11:49 blocks. But I have to admit, when I saw the

11:52 specs, I was Pretty impressed. How many

11:55 pieces are we talking about here?

11:57 Avery: Get this. 9,023

11:59 pieces and 38 minifigures. The completed

12:02 Death Star measures 28 inches high,

12:05 32 inches wide, and 11 inches deep.

12:08 It's got this amazing cross sectional design

12:11 that shows all the famous locations from the

12:13 Star wars films inside the Death Star.

12:15 Anna: So you can see the throne room where Luke

12:18 confronted the emperor, the trash compactor,

12:21 all those iconic scenes.

12:24 Avery: Exactly. And, um, LEGO really knows their

12:26 audience. It goes on sale October 1st for

12:29 LEGO Insiders, and then everyone else can get

12:32 it starting October 4th. What's really

12:34 impressive is that this isn't just a display

12:37 model. It's designed to be highly

12:39 interactive. The cross sectional design lets

12:41 builders recreate famous scenes from the

12:43 movies. And with 38 minifigures, you

12:46 can populate all those detailed interior

12:48 spaces. I have a feeling this is going to

12:51 sell out pretty quickly, especially with the

12:53 holidays coming up.

12:54 Anna: The engineering that goes into these massive

12:57 LEGO sets is incredible, too. Uh, I

13:00 imagine supporting a structure that size and

13:03 weight with LEGO bricks requires some

13:05 serious architectural planning.

13:08 Avery: Oh, absolutely. Lego's designers are

13:10 basically architects and engineers. This

13:13 Depth Star uses advanced building techniques

13:16 like technic beams for internal structure,

13:18 specialized connector pieces to handle the

13:20 weight distribution, and clever use of

13:23 overlapping plates to ensure stability. The

13:26 fact that it can support its own weight while

13:28 still allowing access to all those detailed

13:30 interior sections is really a masterpiece of

13:33 toy engineering. It's estimated to take about

13:36 20 to 30 hours to complete for most builders.

13:39 Anna: I can see this becoming a serious collector's

13:42 item, though. At that price point,

13:44 it's definitely more of an investment piece

13:47 than a casual purchase. But for Star wars

13:50 fans who also love building, it sounds like

13:52 it could be worth every penny.

13:55 Avery: Absolutely. And you know what I love about

13:57 stories like this? It shows how space and

14:00 science fiction continue to inspire people in

14:03 so many different ways. From serious research

14:05 about aging in space to incredibly

14:08 detailed recreations of imaginary space

14:10 stations.

14:11 Anna: That's such a great point, Avery. Whether

14:14 it's NASA studying how to keep

14:16 astronauts healthy on Mars missions,

14:19 radio telescopes, PE back to the dawn of

14:22 time, or LEGO bringing the Death Star

14:25 to our living rooms, it all stems from that

14:27 same human fascination with what's out there

14:30 beyond our world.

14:31 Avery: And we'll be here to bring you all of it.

14:34 That's all for today's episode of Astronomy

14:36 Daily. Don't forget to mark your calendars

14:38 for that lunar eclipse in September 2025.

14:41 Even if we can't see it directly here in the

14:43 US Those live streams are going to be

14:45 amazing.

14:46 Anna: Thanks for joining us today, everyone. Keep

14:48 looking up. And Steve and Hallie will be here

14:51 on Monday with more news from the cosmos. I'm

14:54 Anna.

14:55 Avery: And I'm Avery. Until next time, stay curious

14:58 about the universe around us.