Unveiling the Sun: NASA's Punch Mission, ISS Woes, and Mars Mysteries
In this episode
In this episode of Astronomy Daily, host Anna takes you on a thrilling expedition through the latest cosmic discoveries and pressing news from the space sector. From groundbreaking solar observations to the challenges facing the International Space Station, this episode is brimming with insights that will deepen your understanding of our universe.Highlights:
- NASA's Punch Mission Captures First Images of the Sun: Join us as we explore the exciting achievements of NASA's Punch mission, which has successfully captured its first images of the Sun's outer atmosphere. Discover how these groundbreaking images are set to enhance our understanding of solar material and its journey through the solar system.
- Concerns for the International Space Station: Delve into the alarming warnings from NASA's safety panel regarding the increasing risks to the aging ISS as it nears its retirement date. We discuss the implications of these risks and what they mean for the future of this vital orbital laboratory.
- Curiosity Rover Solves Mars Carbonate Mystery: Travel to Mars with us as we uncover how the Curiosity rover may have solved the mystery of missing carbonates on the red planet. This discovery could reshape our understanding of Mars's early atmospheric conditions and its potential for past habitability.
- The Awakening Gleisberg Cycle: Learn about the intriguing research suggesting we are entering a period of heightened solar activity due to the Gleisberg cycle. This phenomenon could lead to more intense space weather in the coming decades, with both challenges and unexpected benefits for our technology-dependent world.
- Remarkable Lunar Satellite Rescue: Hear the incredible story of how Chinese scientists executed a complex rescue operation to save two lunar satellites stranded in the wrong orbit. This feat showcases remarkable engineering and determination in overcoming significant challenges.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:05 - NASA's Punch mission captures first images of the Sun
10:30 - Concerns for the International Space Station
17:00 - Curiosity rover solves Mars carbonate mystery
22:15 - The awakening Gleisberg cycle
27:30 - Remarkable lunar satellite rescue
✍️ Episode References
NASA Punch Mission
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
International Space Station Safety Panel
[NASA ISS](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html)
Curiosity Rover Findings
[NASA Mars](https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/home/)
Gleisberg Cycle Research
[National Center for Atmospheric Research](https://www.ncar.ucar.edu/)
Chinese Lunar Satellite Rescue
[China National Space Administration](http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
Become a...
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Astronomy Daily, your go to source
Speaker 1: for the latest developments in space and astronomy news. I'm
Speaker 1: Anna and I'm thrilled to have you join me for
Speaker 1: today's Journey through the Cosmos. We've got a packed episode
Speaker 1: for you today, covering some of the most exciting recent
Speaker 1: stories from across the space sector. First up, we'll explore
Speaker 1: NASA's Punch mission, which has just captured its first images
Speaker 1: of the Sun's outer atmosphere. These groundbreaking images are giving
Speaker 1: us new insights into how solar material flows through our
Speaker 1: solar system. Then we'll dive into some concerning news about
Speaker 1: the International Space Station. NASA's Safety Panel has issued warnings
Speaker 1: about increasing risks to the aging outpost as it approaches
Speaker 1: its projected retirement date. We'll break down what these risks
Speaker 1: are and what they mean for the future of the ISS. Next,
Speaker 1: we'll travel to Mars, where the Curiosity Rover may have
Speaker 1: just solved a long standing mystery about missing carbonates on
Speaker 1: the red planet. This discovery could reshape our understanding of
Speaker 1: Mars's early atmosphere history. We'll also look at fascinating research
Speaker 1: suggesting we're entering a period of more intense solar activity.
Speaker 1: Scientists believe a hidden solar cycle is awakening, which could
Speaker 1: lead to more extreme space weather over the next several decades. Surprisingly,
Speaker 1: this might not be entirely bad news. Finally, we'll hear
Speaker 1: the remarkable story of how Chinese scientists rescued a pair
Speaker 1: of lunar satellites that were stranded in the wrong orbit.
Speaker 1: This complex rescue operation involved overcoming numerous challenges and executing
Speaker 1: a series of precise maneuvers to salvage the mission. So
Speaker 1: strap in for a cosmic journey through these fascinating developments
Speaker 1: that are expanding our understanding of the universe around us.
Speaker 1: In an exciting development for solar science, NASA's PUNCH mission
Speaker 1: has achieved a significant milestone by capturing its first images
Speaker 1: of the Sun's outer atmosphere. PUNCH, which stands for Polarimeter
Speaker 1: to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, successfully completed its spacecraft
Speaker 1: commissioning fase just this week, with the mission's instruments now
Speaker 1: beginning to reveal new details about how the solar atmosphere
Speaker 1: unfolds and streams through our solar system. On April fourteenth,
Speaker 1: the mission's Narrow Field Imager and one of its three
Speaker 1: wide field imagers open their instrument doors and captured what
Speaker 1: scientists call first light, the initial images marking the beginning
Speaker 1: of the mission's scientific observations. The remaining wide field imagers
Speaker 1: followed suit two days later, opening their doors and starting
Speaker 1: to capture data as well. These early images are quite fascinating.
Speaker 1: The narrow field imager has captured starfields with the Sun
Speaker 1: near the center of the image, while the wide field
Speaker 1: imagers have provided expansive views of the surrounding space. Scientists
Speaker 1: are now working to calibrate these observations to better reveal
Speaker 1: the subtle details of the Sun's corona and the solar wind.
Speaker 1: What makes Punch truly revolutionary is its constellation approach. The
Speaker 1: mission consists of four fo or small satellites working together,
Speaker 1: one equipped with the narrow field imager and three carrying
Speaker 1: wide field imagers. Once these satellites reach their targeted alignment,
Speaker 1: their images will be stitched together to create a comprehensive
Speaker 1: view of the journey of the Sun's corona and solar
Speaker 1: wind all the way to Earth. The narrow field imager
Speaker 1: functions as a coronagraph, blocking out the Sun's bright light
Speaker 1: to better observe details in the corona. Meanwhile, the wide
Speaker 1: field imagers focus on the faint outermost portion of the
Speaker 1: solar corona and the solar wind itself. This combination allows
Speaker 1: PUNCH to track solar material from its origin at the
Speaker 1: Sun through interplanetary space. During the calibration process, scientists will
Speaker 1: be removing about ninety nine percent of the light from
Speaker 1: the corona, enabling them to track the faint threads of
Speaker 1: solar material as they flow outward through space. Similarly, they'll
Speaker 1: remove star fields and background light from the wide field
Speaker 1: imager data to highlight the subtle flow of the solar
Speaker 1: wind toward Earth. PUNCH will provide something we've never had before,
Speaker 1: global three dimensional observations of the inner Solar system and
Speaker 1: the Sun's outer atmosphere. The mission aims to answer fundamental
Speaker 1: questions about how the Sun's mass and energy become the
Speaker 1: solar wind, that continuous stream of charged particles blowing outward
Speaker 1: from the Sun in all directions. Perhaps most significantly, PUNCH
Speaker 1: will be the first mission to provide imagery of the
Speaker 1: solar wind and coronal mass ejections in polarized light. This
Speaker 1: capability will give scientists new information about solar activity, particularly
Speaker 1: about the formation and evolution of space weather events that
Speaker 1: can create storms of energetic particle radiation, potentially endangering spacecraft
Speaker 1: and astronauts. The mission is being led by Southwest Research Institute,
Speaker 1: which operates the four spacecraft from its facilities in Boulder, Colorado,
Speaker 1: with management from NASA's Explorer's Program Office at Goddard Space
Speaker 1: Flight Center. As the commissioning phase continues, we can look
Speaker 1: forward to increasingly detailed views of our dynamic sun and
Speaker 1: its influence on the space environment around Earth. Next up today,
Speaker 1: some rather concerning news. NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has
Speaker 1: issued a stark warning about the International Space Station, describing
Speaker 1: it as having entered the riskiest period of its existence.
Speaker 1: During a recent public meeting, panel member Rich Williams expressed
Speaker 1: serious concerns about increasing risks to the aging orbital Laboratory
Speaker 1: as it approaches its planned retirement in twenty thirty. One
Speaker 1: of the panel's highest concerns involves ongoing leaks in a
Speaker 1: vestibule of the Russians Vezda module known as PRK. For
Speaker 1: several years now, Russian and American experts have been investigating
Speaker 1: small cracks in this area, with no resolution on their
Speaker 1: cause or how to best address them. Officials from NASA
Speaker 1: and Roscosmos are scheduled to meet in Moscow later this
Speaker 1: month to update efforts to mitigate risks from these cracks.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, iOS managers have implemented procedures such as
Speaker 1: limiting repressurization of the vestibule, which connects a docking port
Speaker 1: to the rest of the station. The panel has also
Speaker 1: highlighted concerns about deorbit plans for the ISS, particularly in
Speaker 1: case of an emergency before the arrival of the USD
Speaker 1: orbit vehicle being built by SpaceX. According to Williams, if
Speaker 1: the station needs to be de orbited before this vehicle
Speaker 1: is delivered, the risk to the public from ISS breakup
Speaker 1: debris will increase by orders of magnitude. This is a
Speaker 1: sobering assessment of what could happen without proper deorbit capabilities.
Speaker 1: Adding to these worries are mounting issues with maintaining sufficient
Speaker 1: spare parts for life support systems and delays with cargo
Speaker 1: resupply vehicles. Sierra Space's Dreamchaser vehicle has been delayed until
Speaker 1: at least late summer, and Northrop Grumman had to scrap
Speaker 1: its planned NGNG twenty two SIGNUS mission to the ISS
Speaker 1: due to damage the spacecraft sustained during shipping. Perhaps most concerning,
Speaker 1: the panel has pointed to what it describes as a
Speaker 1: large ISS budget shortfall underlying all these issues. Williams stated
Speaker 1: that all of these risks are actually a derivative of
Speaker 1: this budget shortfall and collectively contribute to potential compromise of
Speaker 1: the Low Earth orbit transition plan. Though NASA allocated nearly
Speaker 1: one billion dollars to ISS operations and maintenance in its
Speaker 1: fiscal year twenty twenty four operating plan, with an additional
Speaker 1: one point six three billion dollars for crew and cargo transportation,
Speaker 1: the panel warns that these resources may be insufficient. In
Speaker 1: its twenty twenty four annual report, the Panel expressed grave
Speaker 1: concerns that if the necessary funds for the deorbit vehicle
Speaker 1: and supporting launch infrastructure, estimated at over one billion dollars,
Speaker 1: comes solely from the existing ISS budget, this will unduly
Speaker 1: strain NASA's ability to safely perform normal and contingency ISS
Speaker 1: on orbit operations. Williams emphasized that as programs near their
Speaker 1: final phases, there's a temptation to assume fewer reseas sources
Speaker 1: will be needed. However, he stressed that for the ISS,
Speaker 1: it is critical to maintain adequate budget and resources until
Speaker 1: the vehicle is safely re entered. The panel concluded by
Speaker 1: acknowledging the demonstrated operational excellence of the ISS program, while
Speaker 1: remaining deeply concerned about the increasing and cascading risk attending
Speaker 1: the program over the next several years. With the station
Speaker 1: set to remain operational until twenty thirty, managing these growing
Speaker 1: risks while maintaining safety standards will be a significant challenge
Speaker 1: for NASA and its international partners. Let's head over to
Speaker 1: Mars now for an update. Scientists may have finally solved
Speaker 1: one of the most enduring mysteries about Mars, thanks to
Speaker 1: NASA's trusty Curiosity rover. For decades, researchers have been puzzled
Speaker 1: by the apparent lack of carbonate minerals on the Martian surface,
Speaker 1: which doesn't align with theories about the planet's early atmosphere.
Speaker 1: According to our understanding, Mars once had a much thicker
Speaker 1: carbon dioxide atmosphere that could have supported liquid water on
Speaker 1: its surface. If that were true, the interaction between this
Speaker 1: CO two rich atmosphere and surface water should have created
Speaker 1: substantial carbonate deposits, Yet these expected carbonates have been largely
Speaker 1: absent in observations from orbit. That's where curiosity comes in.
Speaker 1: The rover has been drilling deep beneath the Martian surface,
Speaker 1: going down one point two to one point six inches
Speaker 1: into the rock. These samples are then dropped into its
Speaker 1: chemical and mineralogy instrument known as chimin, which uses X
Speaker 1: ray diffraction to analyze the mineral composition of the rocks.
Speaker 1: Thomas Bristow, a research scientist at NASA AIMS and co
Speaker 1: author of the new study, explains the significance drilling through
Speaker 1: the layered Martian surface is like going through a history book.
Speaker 1: Just a few centimeters down gives us a good idea
Speaker 1: of the minerals that formed at or close to the
Speaker 1: surface around three point five billion years ago. The men
Speaker 1: discovered was surprising. Carbonate minerals were indeed present in the
Speaker 1: subsurface rocks, but they were effectively masked by other minerals,
Speaker 1: particularly sulfates, making them difficult to detect using satellite based
Speaker 1: near infrared analysis. This could explain why orbital observations have
Speaker 1: failed to identify widespread carbonates despite theoretical predictions that they
Speaker 1: should exist. This finding has important implications for our understanding
Speaker 1: of Mars's atmospheric history. The discovery suggests that carbonate deposits
Speaker 1: may be more common than previously thought, but they're hidden
Speaker 1: beneath the surface or masked by other minerals. However, even
Speaker 1: with these newly discovered carbonates, scientists believe the amount would
Speaker 1: still be only a fraction of what would be needed
Speaker 1: to account for the thick ancient atmosphere that Mars is
Speaker 1: believed to have had. So where did the rest of
Speaker 1: mars carbon dioxide go? Some portion might be stored in other,
Speaker 1: yet undiscovered deposits, but a significant amount was likely lost
Speaker 1: to space over billions of years as mars protective magnetic
Speaker 1: field weakened and eventually disappeared. Future missions and analyzes focusing
Speaker 1: on other sulfate rich regions across Mars could confirm these
Speaker 1: findings and help fill in more pieces of the puzzle
Speaker 1: regarding how the red planet transformed from a potentially habitable
Speaker 1: world with a thick atmosphere and liquid water to the cold,
Speaker 1: dry planet we observe today. The Curiosity rover, part of
Speaker 1: NASA's Mars Exploration program, continues its scientific mission after landing
Speaker 1: on Mars in twenty twelve. Built by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Speaker 1: Laboratory and managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, this resilient
Speaker 1: explorer keeps providing valuable insights about Mars's history and evolution,
Speaker 1: even after more than a decade of operation on the
Speaker 1: red planet's surface. Next on the agenda today, it's back
Speaker 1: to the Sun. When we think about the Sun's activity,
Speaker 1: we typically picture the familiar eleven year solar cycle, with
Speaker 1: its predictable peaks and valleys of sunspot activity, solar flares,
Speaker 1: and coronal mass ejections. But fascinating new research from the
Speaker 1: National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, suggests there's
Speaker 1: a much longer cycle at play, one that could dramatically
Speaker 1: impact our space weather over the coming decades. Scientists have
Speaker 1: been reviewing satellite data measuring the density of energetic particles
Speaker 1: around Earth, primarily charged protons from the Sun trapped in
Speaker 1: Earth's magnetic field in regions known as the Van Allen
Speaker 1: radiation belts. What they've discovered is evidence of the Gleisberg cycle,
Speaker 1: a little known phenomenon first identified by German astronomer Wolfgang
Speaker 1: Gleisberg back in nineteen fifty eight. This cycle operates over
Speaker 1: approximately one hundred years, causing the intensity of individual solar
Speaker 1: cycles to ebb and flow in a predictable pattern. According
Speaker 1: to Calvin Adam, lead author of the new study, usually
Speaker 1: over four solar cycles, the intensity of solar activity will increase,
Speaker 1: then it will reach its peak, and then it will
Speaker 1: go down over another four solar cycles. The satellite measurements
Speaker 1: suggest we've just hit the lowest point of this century
Speaker 1: long cycle, meaning the next four solar cycles could bring
Speaker 1: significantly more intense solar activity than we've experienced in recent decades.
Speaker 1: This has important implications for our technology dependent world. More
Speaker 1: active solar cycles mean the Sun's magnetic field becomes more tangled,
Speaker 1: producing more sunspots and subsequent solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Speaker 1: These events can wreak havoc on our satellites, power grids,
Speaker 1: and communication systems. However, there's an intriguing twist to this story.
Speaker 1: While more solar storms are expected, the overall density of
Speaker 1: high energy protons surrounding Earth may actually decrease. This seemingly
Speaker 1: counterintuitive relationship occurs because increased solar activity heats and expands
Speaker 1: Earth's atmosphere. If you get more solar activity, you'll get
Speaker 1: more heat and more energy into our atmosphere, explains atom.
Speaker 1: If our atmosphere is getting more heat and energy, it
Speaker 1: will expand. As the atmosphere expands, the protons will run
Speaker 1: into that expanded atmosphere and eventually drop out. This could
Speaker 1: be good news for satellites and astronauts in Earth orbit.
Speaker 1: With lower radiation levels in the space environment between solar storms,
Speaker 1: electronic systems on satellites may experience less long term degradation.
Speaker 1: Astronauts on the International Space Station might also be exposed
Speaker 1: to lower cumulative radiation doses, potentially reducing health risks associated
Speaker 1: with extended stays in space. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean all
Speaker 1: as well. While the baseline radiation environment may improve, will
Speaker 1: likely see more frequent and potentially more devastating solar storms.
Speaker 1: These events can cause rapid atmospheric heating, increasing drag on
Speaker 1: satellites in low Earth orbit and forcing them to use
Speaker 1: precious fuel to maintain their altitude. A powerful solar storm
Speaker 1: last may demonstrated this risk, causing what researchers called a
Speaker 1: mass migration of satellites as thousands of spacecraft lost altitudes simultaneously.
Speaker 1: During such chaotic periods, the risk of orbital collisions increases
Speaker 1: dramatically as operators struggle to calculate and adjust orbits with
Speaker 1: their usual precision. The worry that we are going toward
Speaker 1: more solar activity is definitely there, notes Adam. We have
Speaker 1: built an enormous amount of technology, including satellites and power
Speaker 1: grids since the last Gleisberg maximum, but it's not all bad.
Speaker 1: Our paper suggests that the baseline environment when space weather
Speaker 1: is quiet, should in fact be somewhat safer for our
Speaker 1: increasingly space dependent civilization. This research provides both a warning
Speaker 1: and valuable preparation time. Understanding these long term solar patterns
Speaker 1: allows satellite operators, power companies, and space agencies to develop
Speaker 1: more robust systems and contingency plans for the more active
Speaker 1: solar weather that may lie ahead. Finally, today, in a
Speaker 1: remarkable display of space mission recovery, Chinese scientists have recently
Speaker 1: shared details of their extraordinary four month effort to rescue
Speaker 1: a pair of lunar satellites that were left stranded in
Speaker 1: the wrong orbit. The DROA and dro B spacecraft weighing
Speaker 1: a combined five hundred and eighty one kilograms launched from
Speaker 1: China's Shechi Chong spaceport on March thirteenth last year. Their
Speaker 1: mission was to enter distant retrograde orbit around the Moon
Speaker 1: and connect with the previously launched DROL satellite in low
Speaker 1: Earth orbit, demonstrating inner satellite communication capabilities and proving the
Speaker 1: usefulness of distant retrograde orbits. But the mission quickly encountered
Speaker 1: serious trouble when an anomaly with the Yungjing ons upper
Speaker 1: stage left the satellites in a highly elliptical Earth orbit
Speaker 1: instead of their planned trajectory toward the Moon. Making matters worse,
Speaker 1: the joined satellites were spinning at a dangerous rate of
Speaker 1: once every one point eight seconds, threatening both their structural
Speaker 1: integrity and their ability to operate essential systems. The rescue
Speaker 1: team first had to tackle this rapid rotation using drob's
Speaker 1: attitude control engines. They managed to eliminate the spin over
Speaker 1: a twenty minute period, but telemetry data then revealed another
Speaker 1: serious problem. Both satellites had sustained damage to their solar arrays,
Speaker 1: their crucial power source. Working against the clock. Researchers from
Speaker 1: the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites and Technology and Engineering Center
Speaker 1: for Space Utilization formulated an intricate rescue plan within just
Speaker 1: forty hours. The team faced numerous challenges, including the complex
Speaker 1: orbital dynamics involving Earth, Moon, and Sun gravitational forces, extremely
Speaker 1: limited fuel reserves, and a rapidly closing window of opportunity.
Speaker 1: The first critical engine burn occurred on March eighteenth, lasting
Speaker 1: an impressive one thousand, two hundred seconds and successfully raising
Speaker 1: the satellite's apogee their farthest point from Earth, from one
Speaker 1: hundred thirty four thousand to two hundred forty thousand kilometers.
Speaker 1: Over the next four months, the spacecraft executed four more
Speaker 1: orbital maneuvers, utilized gravity assists, and made additional trajectory corrections.
Speaker 1: After traveling and astonishing eight point five million kilometers, the
Speaker 1: rescue operation concluded successfully on July fifteenth, when both satellites
Speaker 1: reached their predetermined lunar orbits. When the satellites finally separated
Speaker 1: on August twenty eighth and imaged each other, the extent
Speaker 1: of the damage became clear. Droue's solar panels were bent
Speaker 1: nearly ninety degrees, while Drob's arrays resembled broken wings. Despite
Speaker 1: these challenges, the satellites achieved their primary mission objective by
Speaker 1: establishing k banned microwave inner satellite communication links with the
Speaker 1: DROL satellite, creating a three satellite network spanning the Earth
Speaker 1: Moon distance. Wang Wen Bin, a researcher involved in the project,
Speaker 1: highlighted the significance of this achievement. For the first time internationally,
Speaker 1: we have achieved the ability to use satellites to track
Speaker 1: other satellites instead of relying on ground stations. In essence,
Speaker 1: the ground station has been converted into a satelllight and
Speaker 1: placed in low orbit. This breakthrough paves the way for
Speaker 1: new technological advancements in future Earth, Moon space and deep
Speaker 1: space exploration. The DROA satellite carries additional scientific equipment, including
Speaker 1: an all sky detector to monitor gamma ray bursts. China
Speaker 1: plans to leverage these distant retrograde orbits for fundamental scientific
Speaker 1: research in fields including quantum mechanics and atomic physics, taking
Speaker 1: advantage of the long term orbital stability these unique trajectories provide.
Speaker 1: This mission recovery represents one of the most challenging spacecraft
Speaker 1: rescue operations in recent years, demonstrating remarkable ingenuity and perseverance
Speaker 1: from the Chinese space program. While that brings us to
Speaker 1: the end of today's journey through the Cosmos, what an
Speaker 1: incredible set of developments we've covered. From NASA's Punch mission
Speaker 1: capturing its first glimpses of the Sun's outer atmosphere, to
Speaker 1: the concerning safety issues facing our aging International Space Station.
Speaker 1: We explored how Curiosity may have finally solved a long
Speaker 1: standing Mars carbonate mystery, learned about the awakening Gleisberg cycle
Speaker 1: that could change our space weather patterns for decades to come,
Speaker 1: and marveled at the ingenious rescue of Chinese lunar spacecraft
Speaker 1: against seemingly impossible odds. If you're hungry for more space
Speaker 1: and astronomy news, visit our website at Astronomy Daily dot io,
Speaker 1: where our constantly updating news feed keeps you informed about
Speaker 1: the latest discoveries and developments across the Cosmos. While you're there,
Speaker 1: you can also catch up on all our previous episodes.
Speaker 1: Don't forget to join our community on social media. You
Speaker 1: can find us as astro Daily Pod on Facebook, x YouTube, YouTube, music, Tumbler, Instagram,
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Speaker 1: about the wonders of space exploration. Until next time, keep
Speaker 1: looking up. The universe has endless stories to tell, stories
Speaker 1: so stonish. The sol mhm
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