SpaceX's Starship Setback, Lunar Lander Twist, and the Super Earth Discovery: S04E57

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dose of the most

0:03 Speaker 1: fascinating stories from the cosmos. I'm Anna, and we've got

0:06 Speaker 1: an incredible lineup of space news for you today. From

0:09 Speaker 1: dramatic launch setbacks to groundbreaking discoveries, we'll be covering it all.

0:13 Speaker 1: In today's episode. We'll dive into SpaceX's latest starship test

0:17 Speaker 1: flight that didn't quite go as planned, and we'll explore

0:20 Speaker 1: the nail biting story of a lunar lander that's made

0:23 Speaker 1: it to the Moon, but with an unexpected twist. We'll

0:26 Speaker 1: also journey to a newly discovered super Earth that's getting

0:29 Speaker 1: scientists excited about the potential for life beyond our Solar System. Plus,

0:33 Speaker 1: we'll look at Europe's latest achievement in space exploration, examine

0:37 Speaker 1: an innovative new way to monitor our planet's held, and

0:40 Speaker 1: discuss the challenges facing a pioneering private asteroid mission. So

0:45 Speaker 1: strap in and get ready for a journey through the

0:47 Speaker 1: latest developments in space exploration and astronomy. Let's start with

0:52 Speaker 1: a story that seems to be making news headlines around

0:54 Speaker 1: the world. SpaceX's latest Starship test flight has encountered another setback,

1:00 Speaker 1: marking the second launch failure this year for Elon Musk's

1:03 Speaker 1: ambitious interplanetary exploration program. While the mission didn't achieve all

1:08 Speaker 1: its objectives, it wasn't without some notable successes. The flight

1:12 Speaker 1: started promisingly from SpaceX's Boca Chica facility in Texas, but

1:17 Speaker 1: things took a turn for the worse. Several minutes into

1:20 Speaker 1: the mission, the spacecraft began experiencing problems with multiple engines,

1:25 Speaker 1: leading to a loss of attitude control. As SpaceX's communications

1:28 Speaker 1: manager described during the live stream, the vehicle entered an

1:32 Speaker 1: uncontrolled spin before all contact was lost. The most significant

1:36 Speaker 1: success of the day came from the super heavy Booster,

1:39 Speaker 1: which managed to return to the launch pad and was

1:42 Speaker 1: successfully caught by the launch tower's mechanical arms affectionately known

1:46 Speaker 1: as chopsticks for the third time. This achievement represents a

1:50 Speaker 1: crucial step forward in SpaceX's pursuit of rapid rocket reusability. However,

1:55 Speaker 1: the mission's dramatic end created some unexpected challenges. Debris from

1:59 Speaker 1: the spacecraft was spotted streaking across the skies of South

2:02 Speaker 1: Florida and the Bahamas as it re entered Earth's atmosphere.

2:06 Speaker 1: This led the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily halt flights

2:10 Speaker 1: at four Florida airports, including Miami International, as a safety precaution.

2:16 Speaker 1: The FAA has now launched a mishap investigation to determine

2:19 Speaker 1: the root cause of the failure and identify necessary corrective actions.

2:24 Speaker 1: This latest incident follows January's test flight, which also ended

2:28 Speaker 1: in a mid flight breakup and caused similar concerns about

2:31 Speaker 1: falling debris. Despite these setbacks, this mission remained significant for

2:35 Speaker 1: NASA's Artemis program, as SpaceX's Starship is contracted to serve

2:39 Speaker 1: as the lunar lander for future Moon missions. The company

2:43 Speaker 1: maintains its characteristic optimism, noting that such challenges provide valuable

2:47 Speaker 1: lessons for improving Starship's reliability. In other lunar news, intuitive

2:53 Speaker 1: machines latest Moon mission has reached its destination, but not

2:57 Speaker 1: quite as planned. The Athena Lander, which touched down near

3:01 Speaker 1: the Moon's south pole yesterday, is apparently resting on its side,

3:05 Speaker 1: creating some unexpected challenges for mission controllers. The landing occurred

3:09 Speaker 1: around twelve thirty pm Eastern time, though the exact timing

3:13 Speaker 1: and location remained unclear initially, as flight controllers worked to

3:17 Speaker 1: make sense of confusing telemetry data. While the spacecraft successfully

3:21 Speaker 1: made it to the lunar surface, its awkward position is

3:24 Speaker 1: complicating mission operations. CEO Steve Altemus confirmed that the spacecraft

3:29 Speaker 1: is alive and responding to commands, with its solar cells

3:33 Speaker 1: generating power and its flight computer maintaining contact with Earth. However,

3:37 Speaker 1: the off nominal orientation poses significant challenges for the mission's

3:41 Speaker 1: scientific objectives. This landing comes just one year after Intuitive's

3:45 Speaker 1: first moonlander, Odysseus, experienced a similar fate when it landed

3:50 Speaker 1: while moving sideways and tipped over. The news of this

3:54 Speaker 1: second troubled landing has already impacted the company, with their

3:57 Speaker 1: stock dropping twenty percent. Athena carries an impressive array of

4:02 Speaker 1: scientific instruments, including two small rovers, experimental cellular communications equipment,

4:08 Speaker 1: and an innovative rocket powered hopper designed to explore nearby sites.

4:13 Speaker 1: While these payloads might still be deployable, their success will

4:16 Speaker 1: depend heavily on the lander's exact orientation. The mission team

4:22 Speaker 1: now faces a race against time, with only about ten

4:25 Speaker 1: days before darkness sweeps over the landing site at the

4:28 Speaker 1: end of the lunar day. They'll need to quickly assess

4:30 Speaker 1: what mission objectives can still be achieved with their limited

4:33 Speaker 1: power generation and communications capabilities. Despite these challenges, this landing

4:39 Speaker 1: marks another crucial step in NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program,

4:43 Speaker 1: which aims to establish a regular cadence of commercial deliveries

4:47 Speaker 1: to the lunar surface in preparation for future Artemis missions.

4:52 Speaker 1: Let's move on to a groundbreaking find by astronomers. An

4:55 Speaker 1: exciting discovery has been announced in our cosmic neighborhood. Scientists

4:59 Speaker 1: have confirmed the existence of a super Earth orbiting a

5:01 Speaker 1: Sun like star just twenty light years from Earth. The planet,

5:05 Speaker 1: designated HD two zero seven nine four D, has captured

5:09 Speaker 1: researcher's attention as it orbits within its star's habitable zone,

5:14 Speaker 1: making it a promising candidate for studying Earth like atmospheres.

5:18 Speaker 1: This newly discovered world has a mass about six times

5:20 Speaker 1: that of Earth and takes six hundred and forty seven

5:23 Speaker 1: days to complete one orbit around its star. That's slightly

5:26 Speaker 1: faster than Mars orbits are Sun. What makes this discovery

5:30 Speaker 1: particularly intriguing is that the planet's orbit places it squarely

5:33 Speaker 1: within the habitable zone, where temperatures could potentially allow for

5:37 Speaker 1: liquid water to exist on its surface. The discovery comes

5:41 Speaker 1: after more than two decades of meticulous observations using some

5:45 Speaker 1: of the world's most advanced spectrographs, Espresso and harps at

5:49 Speaker 1: ESO observatories in Chile. These instruments can detect the minute

5:54 Speaker 1: wobbles in a star's motion caused by an orbiting planet's

5:57 Speaker 1: gravitational pull, requiring extraord ordinary precision and patients. However, while

6:03 Speaker 1: HD two zero seven nine four d orbits in the

6:06 Speaker 1: habitable zone, it's quite different from Earth. Its orbit is

6:11 Speaker 1: notably elliptical, causing the planet to move between the outer

6:14 Speaker 1: and inner edges of the habitable zone during its year.

6:18 Speaker 1: This means it experiences significant variations in the amount of

6:21 Speaker 1: stellar radiation it receives, which could have fascinating implications for

6:25 Speaker 1: any potential atmosphere. The planet's location and unique characteristics make

6:30 Speaker 1: it an ideal target for upcoming telescopes and space missions.

6:34 Speaker 1: Scientists are particularly excited about the possibility of studying its atmosphere,

6:39 Speaker 1: which could provide valuable insights into how different conditions affect

6:43 Speaker 1: planetary habitability. As one of the closest super earths discovered

6:48 Speaker 1: in a habitable zone, it will likely be among the

6:50 Speaker 1: first planets of its kind that we can study in detail.

6:54 Speaker 1: This discovery adds to our growing understanding of planetary systems

6:57 Speaker 1: around nearby stars and provides another promising target in our

7:01 Speaker 1: search for potentially habitable worlds beyond our Solar system. And

7:06 Speaker 1: an update now to a story we've been covering this week.

7:08 Speaker 1: They've finally done it. In a significant milestone for European

7:12 Speaker 1: space capabilities, the Ariane six rocket has successfully completed its

7:17 Speaker 1: first operational mission, launching a military reconnaissance satellite for the

7:21 Speaker 1: French government. The launch from French Guiana marks a crucial

7:25 Speaker 1: step in Europe's quest for independent access to space, coming

7:29 Speaker 1: at a time when geopolitical tensions have highlighted the importance

7:33 Speaker 1: of space sovereignty. The one hundred eighty four foot tall

7:36 Speaker 1: rocket performed flawlessly, placing the CSO three satellite into its

7:41 Speaker 1: intended orbit roughly five hundred miles above Earth. This success

7:45 Speaker 1: is particularly noteworthy as it comes after years of delays

7:49 Speaker 1: and more than four billion dollars in development costs. While expensive,

7:54 Speaker 1: European officials argue the investment is essential for maintaining strategic

7:58 Speaker 1: autonomy in space operations, the timing of this achievement couldn't

8:03 Speaker 1: be more critical for Europe. Recent political developments, including uncertainties

8:08 Speaker 1: in Transatlantic relations and growing concerns about reliance on foreign

8:11 Speaker 1: launch providers, have intensified the push for European space independence.

8:16 Speaker 1: French officials have been particularly vocal about the need to

8:19 Speaker 1: maintain sovereign launch capabilities, regardless of potentially cheaper alternatives available

8:24 Speaker 1: from competitors like SpaceX. While the Ariani six comes with

8:28 Speaker 1: a higher price tag compared to some competitors, estimated between

8:32 Speaker 1: eighty to one hundred million euros per launch, European leaders

8:35 Speaker 1: view this cost as necessary to ensure guaranteed access to space.

8:39 Speaker 1: This is especially relevant now that Russian Soyuz rockets are

8:42 Speaker 1: no longer an option for European missions following the invasion

8:45 Speaker 1: of Ukraine. The successful launch represents more than just a

8:49 Speaker 1: technical achievement. It's a statement of European technological capability and

8:54 Speaker 1: strategic independence. As one French official noted, this success means

8:58 Speaker 1: Europe now has its ato autonomous access to spaceback, a

9:02 Speaker 1: capability that's becoming increasingly vital in today's geopolitical landscape, moving

9:08 Speaker 1: from the realm of rockets to cutting edge planetary science.

9:11 Speaker 1: NASA's jet propulsion Laboratory has unveiled an ambitious new project

9:15 Speaker 1: that could revolutionize how we monitor our planet's health. Called

9:19 Speaker 1: Pulsar or Planetary pulse Taker, this innovative system aims to

9:23 Speaker 1: do exactly what its name suggests, take the pulse of

9:26 Speaker 1: Earth by measuring subtle changes in its various atmospheric layers.

9:31 Speaker 1: Think of it as a planetary scale health monitoring system,

9:34 Speaker 1: similar to how doctors use multiple vital signs to assess

9:37 Speaker 1: human health. The project would utilize a network of geostationary

9:41 Speaker 1: satellites positioned about twenty thousand kilometers above Earth, equipped with

9:45 Speaker 1: sophisticated laser systems that would pierce through different layers of

9:49 Speaker 1: our atmosphere. What makes this concept particularly fascinating is its

9:54 Speaker 1: ability to detect how different planetary systems interact with each other.

9:59 Speaker 1: By measuring disturbances in the ionosphere, the electrically charged part

10:03 Speaker 1: of our upper atmosphere, scientists could potentially track everything from

10:07 Speaker 1: space weather events to seismic activity deep within the Earth's interior.

10:12 Speaker 1: The system works on a principle similar to the famous

10:14 Speaker 1: Ligo gravitational wave detector, but instead of detecting ripples in

10:18 Speaker 1: space time, it would monitor perturbations in Earth's atmospheric layers.

10:23 Speaker 1: These measurements could provide unprecedented insight into how our planet's

10:26 Speaker 1: various systems are interconnected and influence one another. While the

10:30 Speaker 1: technical challenges are significant, particularly in maintaining precise positioning of

10:35 Speaker 1: satellites over such vast distances, the potential benefits are enormous.

10:40 Speaker 1: This technology could give us early warnings of various planetary

10:43 Speaker 1: phenomena and deepen our understanding of Earth's complex systems. It's

10:48 Speaker 1: an ambitious step forward in our quest to better understand

10:51 Speaker 1: and monitor the health of our planetary home. Next up,

10:55 Speaker 1: in what appears to be a premature end to a

10:57 Speaker 1: groundbreaking mission, the first ever private asteroid probe has encountered

11:02 Speaker 1: serious difficulties. Just days after launch, Astroforge's Odin spacecraft, which

11:07 Speaker 1: lifted off on February twenty sixth alongside intuitive machines lunar mission,

11:12 Speaker 1: has been struggling with communication issues that now seem insurmountable.

11:16 Speaker 1: The two hundred and sixty five pound spacecraft was designed

11:19 Speaker 1: to make history as the first private mission to visit

11:21 Speaker 1: an asteroid, specifically targeting the near Earth asteroid twenty twenty

11:26 Speaker 1: two oh B five. Built in less than ten months

11:29 Speaker 1: for a remarkably modest budget of just three point five

11:31 Speaker 1: million dollars, Odin represented an ambitious attempt to pave the

11:35 Speaker 1: way for future asteroid mining operations. The problems began shortly

11:39 Speaker 1: after deployment, when the spacecraft entered a protective sunsafe mode.

11:43 Speaker 1: Engineers believe the issue may stem from complications with the

11:46 Speaker 1: solar panel deployment, severely limiting the probe's power generation capabilities.

11:51 Speaker 1: There's also a possibility that the spacecraft is tumbling through space,

11:54 Speaker 1: preventing its antenna from maintaining a stable connection with Earth.

11:59 Speaker 1: Despite these setback, Odin has achieved something remarkable. It's now

12:03 Speaker 1: approximately two hundred and seventy thousand miles from Earth, making

12:07 Speaker 1: it one of the few private spacecraft to reach true

12:09 Speaker 1: deep space. While Astroforge will continue occasional attempts to re

12:13 Speaker 1: establish contact, they've largely shifted their focus to applying these

12:17 Speaker 1: lessons to future missions, including their upcoming Vestry mission planned

12:21 Speaker 1: for late twenty twenty six. This setback, while disappointing, exemplifies

12:26 Speaker 1: the challenges and risks of private space exploration. As Astroforge noted,

12:31 Speaker 1: even in failure, Odin has become both a pioneer and

12:35 Speaker 1: a teacher, providing valuable insights that will inform future deep

12:39 Speaker 1: space missions. And that wraps up our coverage for today.

12:44 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me on Astronomy Daily, where we

12:46 Speaker 1: bring you the latest developments in space exploration and astronomy.

12:51 Speaker 1: From SpaceX's dramatic launch to groundbreaking exoplanet discoveries. It's been

12:55 Speaker 1: another fascinating day in space news. If you'd like to

12:59 Speaker 1: stay up today with all the latest developments in space

13:01 Speaker 1: and astronomy, head over to our website at Astronomy Daily

13:04 Speaker 1: dot io. There you'll find our constantly updating news feed

13:08 Speaker 1: and can catch up on all our previous episodes. Don't

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13:22 Speaker 1: and TikTok. This is Anna signing off until next time,

13:25 Speaker 1: Keep looking up and stay curious about our fascinating universe.

13:28 Speaker 2: Stars starz star